Posted on 12/03/2007 4:49:52 PM PST by NormsRevenge
PHILADELPHIA - They were young, rich and in love. But the jet-setters financed their fun on the credit cards of unsuspecting neighbors in their high-end apartment building and other identity-fraud victims, police said Monday.
The fraud scheme paid for jaunts to Paris, London and Hawaii and a stop at a tony salon for $1,700 worth of hair extensions, police said.
Drexel University student Jocelyn Kirsch, 22, and beau Edward K. Anderton, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, were charged Friday with identity theft, forgery, unlawful use of a computer and a laundry list of other counts.
"They were two young people that were given many gifts in life," said Detective Terry Sweeney, who spoke of the couple's supportive families and private schooling. "And the very best thing they could do was victimize other people."
A police search of the couple's $3,000-a-month apartment turned up a book titled, "The Art of Cheating: A Nasty Little Book for Tricky Little Schemers and Their Hapless Victims," as well as a 2005 article from Penn's campus newspaper on "How to Spot Fake IDs."
Police started investigating after a resident on their floor notified police on Nov. 19 that she thought her identity had been stolen. A day later, the woman heard from a local UPS store about a waiting package, although she had not ordered anything from the British retailer that sent it.
Police kept an eye on the store and arrested Anderton and Kirsch on Friday when they walked in to pick up the package, detectives said.
A weekend search of the couple's apartment turned up a mother lode of tech toys: four computers, two printers, a scanner and an industrial machine that makes ID cards. Police also found $17,500 in cash, dozens of credit cards and fake drivers' licenses, and keys to unlock many of the apartments and mailboxes in their Rittenhouse Square building. Police are not yet sure how they got the keys.
"They were like a parasite that infected that building," Sweeney said.
Police believe the scheme dates back at least two years and involves victims beyond the apartment house. A slideshow found on one of their computers shows the couple's high-flying travels: kissing in front of the Eiffel Tower, sporting matching red swim wear at a ritzy oceanfront resort; and dining at an elegant restaurant.
Anderton was recently fired from a job as a financial analyst that had paid for at least his initial stay in the apartment, Lt. George Ondrejka said.
Sweeney estimates the scope of the couple's fraud in the past year alone at more than $100,000. He fears that police are not finished finding victims. So far, they know of five victims, one of whom was taken for $30,000.
It was not immediately clear if the couple had hired attorneys. Neither has a listed telephone number in Philadelphia.
Kirsch's father arrived from Winston-Salem, N.C., to post her $25,000 bond Sunday. Anderton, who hails from Washington state, posted bond Monday, police said.
Only when the punishment sends a clear message to those who would commit such a crime will it have been effective as a deterent.
Main Line lib elitists, I’ll bet. They’re *entitled* to other people’s money.
I can’t beleive Daddy had to come to post her bail. Wouldn’t they accept one of her credit cards?/s/
It would be a good idea to get out of that building before their neighbors decide to take matters into their own hands. These two have caused a world of hurt for those trying to reclaim their identities.
bump
Norm you should have seen the stack of ID's ....it was mind blowing ....how many people they ripped off.
What a daddy, I would have let the little darling sit in jail. If she is woman enough to to the crime, she is woman enough to do the time.
Like I said the rows of ID's they had was staggering.
Why stop there? I say behead them! (/sarc)
I’m sure it was her evil boyfriends fault.
Actually; drawn and quartered comes to mind.
Can you imagine the damage to YOU if they stole your identity, and YOU had to straighten it all out and rebuild?
There's no way that this type of crime should carry "community service" or "probation plus a small fine" as recompense.
Not only should they pay the money they stole back, there should be PUNITIVE awards to EVERY plantiff they stole from, and these two should suffer for YEARS for what they had done. Likewise, the punishment should be severe enough so they can live in a manner they are UNACCUSTOMED.
>> I say behead them! (/sarc)
That’s a little severe, don’t you think?
However... it might be OK to harvest and sell some of their body parts, to reimburse those damaged by their crime spree.
Mind you, only organs that are “luxuries” unnecessary to actually maintaining life should be taken... say, one kidney, both corneas, couple square feet of skin, few ounces of bone marrow, pint of blood a week...
Don’t worry - they will both get at least 5-10 plus multiple felonies on their records. Neither will get near a job comensurate with their education. Add to that the civil reparations that will take place after they get out, plus penalties and interest. They are well screwed, decades after they get out of prison.
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