How I Got Scammed By New York's Fake German Heiress

ANNA DELVEY SAID SHE WAS WORTH MILLIONS. BUT RACHEL DELOACHE WILLIAMS FOUND OUT THE HARD WAY THAT IT WAS ALL A LIE

- Anna Delvey

IT WAS THE SCAM heard around the world. In 2017, it was revealed that the woman New York socialites knew as Anna Delvey, a German heiress who swanned around the most exclusive clubs and restaurants, had skipped out on multiple luxury hotel bills totaling tens of thousands, and written bad cheques to the tune of nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Far from being an heiress with a $90 million trust fund, she was, in fact, a Russian con artist and the daughter of a former truck driver.

With its gossipy details about the who’s who of NYC, its glimpses into the glamorous high life and its fitting ending – the woman at the heart of it charged with grand larceny – it was a story tailor-made for the media, which breathlessly covered every detail of the trial. But for Rachel DeLoache Williams, it was a nightmare. Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, had befriended the Vanity Fair photo editor and treated her to lavish dinners, nights out, personal trainers and even a holiday to Morocco. But then it all fell apart…

The three of us – Kacy, the fitness trainer; Jesse, the videographer; and me, the friend – had come to Marrakech at Anna’s invitation. She had offered to pay for our flights, a luxurious private riad at La Mamounia, complete with three bedrooms, a butler and a pool, and all of our expenses. It sounded like a dream. But my last full day in Morocco – Thursday, May 18, 2017 – got off to a rocky start.

I had woken up to three new messages on my phone. The first was from Kacy, who had succumbed to a stomach bug and wanted to go home: Morning Rachel. I think I need to leave today, it read. The other two were from Jesse. He had gone to the tennis courts to film Anna during her private lesson, but when he arrived, she wasn’t there. She was asleep beside me, in the room we were sharing.