Anna Sorokin's real-life friend Neff Davis says she still picks up the fake heiress' phone calls if she's 'bored' but was forced to 'set boundaries'
- The real-life Neffatari "Neff" Davis spoke out about her friendship with Anna Sorokin.
- "I have to set boundaries. Sometimes I won't answer the phone," Davis told Vulture.
The real-life Neffatari "Neff" Davis opened up about her friendship with convicted scammer Anna Sorokin in a new interview with Vulture.
"It's almost like a seesaw. I have to set boundaries. Sometimes I won't answer the phone because I had to let her know I have my freedom," Davis said of her friendship with Sorokin.
"I'm not going to be able to answer every single phone call from jail. But if you need some panties or some coconut milk for Thanksgiving, I'll send it," Davis added.
According to the filmmaker, she had to "set boundaries" with Sorokin during Sorokin's 2019 trial, since the fake heiress, born in Russia, "started losing her mind a little bit when it came to being famous in jail and by herself without family here in America."
Now that Davis lives in Los Angeles, and Sorokin remains in ICE custody in Orange County, New York, Davis said their communication style has changed.
"We speak as much as we can, which is like once a month right now. I spoke to her yesterday, actually," Davis told Vulture. "It's like, if I'm bored, I'll pick up."
"I try to give her some type of stamina to keep going because she literally has no one out here in America," the filmmaker added.
Both Davis and Sorokin are portrayed in the new Shonda Rhimes show "Inventing Anna," currently streaming on Netflix. Davis is played by Alexis Floyd, and "Ozark" star Julia Garner portrays Sorokin.
Also featured on the Netflix show is Sorokin's former friend Rachel Williams, played by Katie Lowes. The real-life Williams, who previously worked at Vanity Fair, recently condemned "Inventing Anna" for "glorifying" a "sociopathic" criminal. Sorokin later responded on Instagram in a lengthy statement, accusing Williams of "shamelessly" exploiting their former friendship.
Sorokin first rose to fame in 2018, after articles were published by New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, and the New York Post about her attempts to con financial institutions out of money by pretending to be a wealthy German heiress.
A jury convicted Sorokin on charges of theft, larceny, and attempted theft and larceny in May 2019, though the jury acquitted Sorokin of the prosecutors' charge alleging she stole from Williams.
The so-called "SoHo scammer" was released from a New York jail in February 2021 after serving about three-and-a-half years in prison. Sorokin is now in ICE custody due to immigration issues. She shared her thoughts about the Netflix show as well as her experience behind bars in a recent essay for Insider.
"Inventing Anna" is available to stream now on Netflix.