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Transcript for ‘Fake heiress’ guilty of swindling NY elite
A lot coming up but we begin with a guilty verdict for that New York woman who pretended to be an heiress and stole hundreds of thousands to funnel her luxury lifestyle and whit Johnson here with details. Reporter: The drama played out late into the evening. At one point the jury appeared deadlocked. The defense asking for a mistrial but then the verdict. Jurors agreeing with the prosecution that Anna Sorokin built her fairy tale life on a foundation of theft and lies. Overnight a New York City jury finding socialite Anna Sorokin the soho grifter guilty on grand larceny, attempted grand larceny and theft of services and prosecutors arguing the 28-year-old stole $250,000 from banks, hotels and friends to fund a lavish lifestyle. The jurors obviously believed our point of view and followed our logic and acquitted her of the top charge. I’m saddened she was convicted of some of the other charges. Reporter: The Russian born Sorokin was pretending to be a high-flying German heiress living a life of glamour among Manhattan’s elite and forged financial documents hoping to get a $22 million loan to open a private club in the big apple. While she was turned down, she did convince one bank to loan her $100,000 which she never paid back. Her lawyers saying she meant to but had gotten in over her head and was just buying time. But it was all a lie, they say. A fake story convincing people she was the daughter of a diplomat or an oil baron. An it girl who claimed to have more than $60 million to her name confidently tipping hotel workers with $100 bills. Sorokin’s case capturing Hollywood’s attention. “Grey anatomy’s” creator Shonda rhimes and her designer glasses and snakeprint dresses has a fan account. Her defense team confirming to ABC news they hired a professional stylist to dress Sorokin for her trial in the spotlight. Clothes, an important part of a defendant’s appearance particularly in a trial of this nature. Reporter: Sorokin was acquitted of two charges including the most serious, attempting to steal more than $1 million from Citi national bank. She now faces deportation and up to 15 years in prison. A stylist for the trial? Amazing. The attorney said that it was important for her to continue to show, you know, who she was and her personality but in the end she was still convicted. Wild story. All right, whit, thank you.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
