Anna Delvey, the notorious con artist, was invited to speak to students at Harvard Business School in a course called "Borderline".
Anna Delvey, the woman who posed as a German heiress to party in New York's highest social circles, will be a guest at the prestigious Harvard University. A representative of the university confirmed to Page Six that Anna Delvey has been invited to speak to second-year business school students in a course called "Borderline" during the semester. The course description states that the curriculum aims to explore "businesses run by well-meaning managers whose plans go astray, ambitious entrepreneurs who misjudge their risks, and professional organizations run by con artists." The course in question is taught by Professor Eugene Soltes and wants to immerse Harvard students in "the messy, complex and often hidden risks that lurk in the business world."
"Our course will confront these issues from the perspective of innovative entrepreneurs trying to overcome outdated regulations, multinational executives facing Catch-22 dilemmas, and investors looking to profit from an emerging business phenomenon," he said. Taking advantage of an emerging business phenomenon is something Anna Delvey knows a lot about. After moving to New York and swindling several million dollars, she hatched a plan to create a contemporary art foundation, the Anna Delvey Foundation. She simulates a bank loan of 22 million dollars by presenting false papers.
Soon a reality show
But by dint of accumulating fake documents, blank checks and borrowing thousands of euros from various banks, she eventually attracted the attention of the authorities. In 2019, she was convicted of grand larceny, attempted larceny, and theft of services for schemes, including her banking scheme to fund her so-called art club. Arrested in 2017, convicted two years later of fraud and incarcerated in a New York jail, she was released for good behavior on February 11, 2021. She has been under house arrest ever since.
If the Russian scammer now enjoys an unparalleled reputation to the point of being a guest at Harvard, it is because her expertise calls for admiration. Having swindled New York's top brass, Anna Delvey has a rightful place as a guest in this very special business class. A ruthless businesswoman, she knows how to surf on her fame. She is now developing her own reality series, Delvey's Dinner Club. The concept? Dinners with "celebrities, moguls and glitterati" to discuss life. "There's nothing like getting a group of friends together to share life stories and enjoy a great dining experience," Anna Delvey said in a statement. Known worldwide as the "Soho hustler", Anna Delvey would like, with this reality show, to restore her image. A wish that could well come true in view of her new prestigious university associations. In addition to Harvard, she was also invited to speak with students from the elite Oxford University in England.