PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A young couple accused of financing a lavish lifestyle through a large-scale identity theft scheme surrendered Wednesday to face additional theft and burglary charges, police said.
Jocelyn Kirsch, 22, and boyfriend Edward Anderton, who turned 25 Wednesday, used the scam to live affluently in Philadelphia and take international vacations, authorities said.
They were initially arrested Friday and charged with identity theft, forgery, unlawful use of a computer and related offenses. They posted bail and were freed but turned themselves in Wednesday to face the additional charges.
Police said that during a weekend search of the couple’s upscale apartment, 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.
Kirsch “can’t believe that she got herself into this,” said her lawyer, Ronald Greenblatt. “It’s not like she’s blaming anybody else but herself.”
It was unclear whether Anderton had a lawyer. A preliminary hearing for the two is set for Thursday.
Anderton is a University of Pennsylvania graduate who was recently fired from a job as a financial analyst. Kirsch is a student at Drexel University.
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