Just a few days ago, a news flash said - Anna Sorokin has been released on bail. For all those who have seen ‘Inventing Anna’ – the mini web series on Netflix must have a clear idea of who she is and what she did that led to her being behind bars and subsequent bail - but still under house arrest. For those of you who missed ‘Inventing Anna’, Anna Sorokin is a 31-year old Russian-German woman who duped New York socialites by pretending that she was a German heiress named Anna Delvey.
Anna was caught in 2017 and imprisoned in April 2019 on charges of grand larceny in the second degree and theft of services. The young lady had gone to extraordinary lengths to scam her way into a life of luxury, which she got too, but it was rather short-lived as her crimes landed her in jail.
A similar story is making headlines in India as well. It is that of an Odisha-based 28-year-old woman, Archana Nag who chose to blackmail politicians and film stars to pay for her lavish lifestyle. In 2015, Archana moved to Odisha’s state capital Bhubaneswar to pursue integrated law but her penchant for a flamboyant and life full of luxuries drove her to choose the illegal route.
Along with her husband Jagabandhu, Archana blackmailed several high-profile and high-networth individuals for money. They used to record intimate videos through hidden cameras and then demand a huge amount of money from these HNIs, at times running into crores. They even forced many women into prostitution and used them to blackmail influential people.
Last week both Archana Nag and her husband landed in the net of the Bhubaneswar Police.
Be it the Anna Sorokin or Archana Nag, it is their avarice which pushed them to go to extremes to build their castles. It’s certainly not bad to dream big but you’re sure to get into trouble sooner or later if you dare to dream big using illegal means.