On 11 February, 2022, we saw the release of one of the most awaited projects on Netflix: Inventing Anna. The drama series is based on the life of Anna Sorokin, a scammer who blended in with the rich people of New York and managed to dupe them off their money. Since the show is so heavily dependent on the life of Anna Sorokin, the question is- how much did Netflix pay for the series?

What are Sorokin’s crimes?

Anna Sorokin pretended to be Anna Delvey, a rich German heiress with a $60 million trust fund. After spending quite some time in this role, she was first arrested for owing thousands of dollars at the Beekman and W hotel chains in July 2017. After being released, Sorokin again found herself arrested in October 2017, this time for her crimes that would ensure all her financial shenanigans come to an end.

Sorokin’s creditors include two downtown hotels, a private jet company called Blade, and, of course, banks. Apart from her due bill at the hotels and infamous scam with the CEO of Blade, Sorokin convinced a bank employee to give her $100,000. Additionally, her former friend Rachel Williams also accused Anna of stealing more than $60,000 for a luxury trip the two embarked on in 2017. The court found Anna not guilty of this charge.

How much did Netflix pay Anna Sorokin?

For the rights to adapt her story into a TV series, Netflix reportedly paid Anna Sorokin a whopping $320,000. Out of this money, Sorokin has already used about $199,000 to pay back to the banks. She has also used up another $24,000 to settle state fines and $75,000 as legal fees (of which she will have to pay more once she is out).

However, Anna had the option of holding back the money until she was out. New York state invoked the Son of Sam law, something that rarely happens, which froze all of Anna’s funds in 2019. The same law allows her to retain the money until the very end, or even give her the opportunity “to not pay anything at all” if her appeal was successful. She, however, chose to go the other way because she believed she owed the money, albeit not stealing.

Inventing Anna, the series based on the life of Anna Sorokin is out on Netflix. Stream now!