ID Thief Sentenced to Five Years

By George Stargell, Senior Editor   

Posted: Oct 20, 2008

A former Drexel University student was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty in July to two counts of aggravated identity theft as well as to charges of bank fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and access-device fraud.

Jocelyn Kirsch, 23, was also ordered to undergo mental-health treatment in prison and will be on probation for five years once her jail time is served. She will also have to pay over $100,000 in restitution to her victims. Her defense attorney, Ronald Greenblatt, had argued for a lighter sentence, claiming that Kirsch suffers from mental problems stemming from a difficult family life.

Kirsch and her former boyfriend, Edward K. Anderton, were arrested in Philadelphia in July 2008 after a series of incidents uncovered the crimes. For at least two years, the duo had used master keys to look through their neighbors' apartments and mailboxes, making off with financial records, credit cards, and other identity-specific items. The couple turned their ill-gotten gains into vacations in London, Paris, and Hawaii, while supporting a lifestyle they otherwise couldn't afford.

Their criminal behavior was uncovered in November 2007 after two neighbors noticed potential signs of identity theft. One neighbor began to make inquiries, while the other neighbor alerted the authorities that a package that she'd never ordered was being held for her at a local UPS outlet. The police staked out the UPS store and arrested Kirsch and Anderton when they showed up and requested the package.

A subsequent search warrant for the couple's apartment turned up, among other things, more than 20 stolen credit cards, four computers, two printers, a scanner, a machine that makes false ID cards, and over $17,000 in cash.

U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo C. Rebreno's five-year sentence was two fewer than the federal sentencing guidelines allowed, but he made it clear that he felt justice was served nonetheless.

"This sentence properly punishes the defendant, provides full restitution and protects the public," Judge Rebreno said. "There's no apparent object to these acts other than greed and a desire to fuel a lavish lifestyle. A message must be sent out from this sentence that credit card fraud will not pay."