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Heiress hoax scores woman celebrity treatment, and charges

Mar 26, 2019 | 11:16 PM

NEW YORK — Anna Sorokin travelled in celebrity circles and tossed $100 tips — all the more reason to believe she was the German heiress she said she was.

Prosecutors say the jet-set lifestyle and pricy threads masked a fraudster who bilked friends, banks and hotels for a taste of the high life.

The 28-year-old Sorokin is scheduled to stand trial Wednesday on charges she swindled $275,000 in a 10-month odyssey that saw her jetting to Marrakesh before landing in a New York City jail cell.

Sorokin is accused of living in luxury hotels she couldn’t afford, promising a friend a free trip and then sticking her with the bill, and peddling bogus bank statements in a quest for a $22 million loan.

Sorokin’s lawyer says she’s “presumed innocent and never intended to commit a larceny.”

Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press