Anna Delvey is fresh out of jail and back to living life in the Big Apple.
After spending more than a year behind bars for overstaying her visa, the fake heiress—who was released from custody on Oct. 7—is speaking out about how her time was under the supervision of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"You're always at somebody else's mercy," Anna, 31, told The New York Times Oct. 8. "Getting anything for myself, it was just impossible."
Though the socialite—who became the subject of Netflix's Inventing Anna series—is now under house arrest with an ankle bracelet as she lives in her new Manhattan apartment, she believes her new living arrangements are better for many reasons.
"Better food," she continued. "And I can have visitors beyond just 1:30 p.m. on Thursdays. We'll just see what I can do from here. I guess everybody will be coming to me."
She knows she'll be under scrutiny but noted, "I perform better under pressure. So many people just can't wait to see me do something crazy, or illegal, and go back to jail. I would not want to give them the satisfaction."
Now, Anna is "really, really happy" to be in New York, saying, "That's exactly what I wanted. I'm just hoping to get more freedom eventually."
In 2019, Anna was accused of conning hundreds of thousands of dollars from banks, hotels and New Yorkers into financing her extravagant lifestyle by pretending she was the daughter of a German oil tycoon. She was convicted of attempted grand larceny, larceny in the second degree and theft of services, but found not guilty on two additional charges.
Anna was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison, which included time she spent behind bars before the trial.
After serving two more years, she was released in 2021 and then detained by immigration authorities, who argued that she should be deported back to Germany for overstaying her visa. As her deportation case plays out, a judge has ruled that Anna be placed in home confinement, wear an ankle monitor and refrain from posting on social media.
With her conviction behind her, Anna said that she has a "different perspective" on life now that she is officially out of jail.
"I learned so much being in jail. There's a very well-documented arc about how I've felt about everything," she told The New York Times. "I am regretful about the way things played out. The way I've tried to see my experience is to learn from it: Who I am today is because of the decisions I made in the past."
She has also made strides in repairing her relationship with her parents, saying that she speaks to them "every other day."
Anna—who recently launched a career as an artist—is now focusing on her future, telling the outlet that she doesn't want to box herself into only being an artist.
"I have a lot going on," she noted. "I'm working on my own podcast with different guests for each episode. But it's not shaped up yet. It was pretty hard to record anything high quality from jail. And then there's my book. I'd love to do something with criminal-justice reform to kind of highlight the struggles of other girls."