‘Can you talk now?’: Texts that brought down ‘fake’ heiress Anna Delvey-Sorokin

She was the beautiful enigma who bewitched New York high society — but there was a dark side to Anna Delvey that these texts laid bare.

Rachel DeLoache Williams had no idea what she was getting herself into the night she met infamous fake ‘socialite’ Anna Delvey in a New York nightclub one Wednesday in February 2016. But six months later, Anna had sucked her into her web of lies, almost ruining her life in the process. Here, Rachel reveals the text messages that led police to Anna’s hiding spot, finally bringing her run of chaos, financial ruin and deception to an end.

A fair number of luxury rehab centres dotted the stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, but Officer McCaffrey and I focused on two, Promises and Passages, both of which closely resembled Anna’s descriptions.

Costing upward of $60,000 per month, the latter billed itself as the world’s most luxurious addiction rehab centre — and as such, for Anna, it seemed the likeliest choice.

Even though it felt like we were getting close, due to healthcare privacy regulations it wasn’t so easy to check. Clinics were not required to admit law enforcement officials, nor to confirm whether a certain person was in residence. Assuming Anna knew as much, you had to give her credit.

Anna lived a lavish life as an ‘heiress’. Picture: Instagram

My cell phone buzzed at random, tucked within my back pocket. I pulled it out to check my messages.

“How much time do you have for lunch tomorrow?” Anna asked.

“One-and-a-half hours,” I told her. (It wasn’t true, but it didn’t matter.)

“OK noon it is,” she wrote back. “You choose the spot.”

I suggested a restaurant called Joan’s on Third.

“OK,” she said. “Do we need a reservation?”

I sent a screenshot to Officer McCaffrey. Awesome, he replied, “She can make one if she wants.”

“Maybe make one? I’m not sure,” I said to Anna.

“They don’t take any,” she replied.

“I think it’s pretty casual,” I answered. “They have delicious salads.”

I took another screenshot. “Perfect,” said Officer McCaffrey.

God, it made me sad, lying like this. I could feel myself splinter — words on one side, actions on the other. How on earth had Anna done this for so long and with such apparent ease?

To help the Los Angeles Police Department identify her, Officer McCaffrey asked me to send him a few recent photos of Anna. Scrolling through my phone, a travelogue flashed before my eyes. Anna smiling in her sunglasses on the grounds of La Mamounia (a luxury resort in Morocco); walking through the souk, looking back at me with a grin; pouting in the self-portrait from her Instagram account; beaming, self-satisfied, at a table in Le Coucou (an upscale restaurant in Manhattan). I guessed her height at five foot seven. And she normally wears all black, I added.

Anna at her favourite restaurant Le Coucou, where she held court with Manhattan’s elite. Picture: Instagram

“See ya tomorrow lady!” I said to Anna, as I arrived at the hotel restaurant for a quick dinner.

“Yes!” she replied. “Can’t wait to see you. Been forever.”

It felt like forever, but in reality it had been almost two months to the day since I last saw Anna.

Our final text exchange took place on October 3, 2017, starting at 8.:9am.

Anna: Can you talk now?

Me: Sorry. Not right this second. Call you ASAP.

Anna: I’m leaving here now, not sure i’ll have reception until our date, see you there.

Anna: prob be there bit early.

Anna: If you get a chance to get like 3 vodka bottles and big water bottle 1 or 2 to fill that in.

Me: OK see you soon!! Sorry it’s crunch time here.

Anna: And maybe 1 bottle of white wine with screw top and ice tea to pour that into.

Anna: Thank you.

Anna: See you at noon.

The text from Officer McCaffrey arrived at 9.18am. “Call me,” it read. I ducked around the corner, cell phone to my ear, bracing myself. “They got her,” he said.

Rachel DeLoache Williams. Picture: Nick Rogers

Anna was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department as she left Passages that morning. She was in custody, on her way to wherever it is that criminals who are arrested in Malibu are taken for booking. At noon, the very minute I was scheduled to arrive at Joan’s on Third, I sent a series of messages to Anna:

Me: Hey, I’m running like 10mins late — almost there

Me: Are you close?

Me: I don’t see you.

Me: Anna?

Me: I’m sorry I had to leave. Maybe you’re at the wrong location???

Me: Text me later when you get back on Wi-Fi and we can find another time to meet.

I never went to Joan’s on Third for lunch, so why bother pretending that I had? Was I afraid that she would discover my involvement in her arrest? Most definitely. But that wasn’t the only reason. As Anna had done with me, I wanted her to believe my lie.

Rachel details her friendship with Anna in her new book My Friend Anna. Picture: Supplied

A week later, I sent my last text to Anna: Find it strange I haven’t heard anything from you, I wrote. And as sad as it was, I meant what I said.

This is an edited extract from My Friend Anna by Rachel DeLoache Williams (RRP $32.99, Hachette Australia), out now.

Originally published as ‘Can you talk now?’: Texts that brought down ‘fake’ heiress Anna Delvey-Sorokin