Couple Suspected in Identity Theft Scheme Face New Charges

Published January 13, 2015

A young couple accused of financing a lavish lifestyle through a large-scale identity theft scheme surrendered to police Wednesday to face additional theft and burglary charges.

Jocelyn Kirsch, 22, and boyfriend Edward Anderton, who turned 25 Wednesday, used the scam to live affluently in Philadelphia and take numerous international vacations, authorities said.

They were initially arrested Friday and charged with identity theft, forgery, unlawful use of a computer and related offenses. They were free after posting bail, but turned themselves in at police headquarters Wednesday to face more charges.

During a weekend search of the couple's upscale apartment, police said they found $17,500 in cash, dozens of credit cards, fake driver's licenses, keys to unlock many of the apartments and mailboxes in their building, and an industrial machine that makes ID cards.

"She can't believe that she got herself into this," Kirsch's lawyer, Ronald Greenblatt, told reporters. "It's not like she's blaming anybody else but herself."

The two face a preliminary hearing Thursday morning. It was unclear whether Anderton had a lawyer.

Anderton, originally from Everett, Wash., is a University of Pennsylvania graduate who was recently fired from a job as a financial analyst. Kirsch is a student at Drexel University.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/story/couple-suspected-in-identity-theft-scheme-face-new-charges