Anna Delvey tells how her participation in Dancing with the stars came into being.

After the cast of season 33 of the competitive dance show was announced on Good morning AmericaThe convicted con artist, 33, told PEOPLE exclusively how she was allowed to compete for the mirrorball trophy while under house arrest.

Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorkin, rose to prominence by posing as a wealthy German heiress and using her social status to scam wealthy individuals, banks, and hotels. She was arrested and convicted in 2017 of grand larceny in the first, second, and third degrees, as well as theft of services in 2019.

Her sentence included four to 12 years in prison, which was shortened when she was released for good behavior in February 2021. Shortly after her release, Delvey was taken into custody by ICE for violating the terms of her visa. She is living under house arrest in New York City while she fights her deportation case.

“Good, (DWTS) reached out to my team and I had to get permission from ICE to leave the state because it’s filmed in Los Angeles and I live in New York,” she told PEOPLE of how her stint came about. “It took about 10 days to get it through the system and get everything approved.”

“By the time I got the approval, the start date was almost here, so I flew out to LA the next day and thought, why not?” Delvey recalls.

When asked about the potential negative reactions to her controversial casting, Devley said, “It’s just not that serious. If someone is that upset about casting for a dance show, I don’t know what to say.”

Together with her partner Ezra Sosa, Delvey will participate in Dancing with the stars on condition that she continues to wear her ankle bracelet. She said The Hollywood Reporter that her device would not hinder her performance.

“How would it affect my performance? It’s actually quite mild,” she said.

On September 4th, Good morning America announced other cast members who will be joining Delvey this season. Celebrity contestants include: Phaedra Parks, Eric Roberts, Tori Spelling, Dwight Howard, Brooks Nader, Joey Graziadei, Jenn Tran, Chandler Kinney, Stephen Nedoroscik, Reginald VelJohnson and more.

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Dancing with the stars is produced in front of a live audience by BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions. Season 33 premieres Tuesday, September 17 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with the episode available to stream the following day on Hulu.