Edward K. Anderton, 25, and Jocelyn Kirsch, 22, were arrested for stealing the identities of their neighbors and living a lavish life due to identity theft in Philadelphia Friday.
Kirsch, a Drexel University student who is a former member of the sorority Delta Phi Epsilon, and Anderton, a 2005 University of Pennsylvania graduate who was fired from his analyst job with Lubert-Adler Real Estate Funds, were charged with identity theft, conspiracy, unlawful use of a computer, forgery and a slew of other offenses.
Cops said the couple trotted the globe, furnished their $3,000-a-month Center City condo and bought the latest in electronics with their newfound credit. They traveled to Paris, Hawaii, and Turks & Caicos Islands.
After obtaining a search warrant, cops found three safe lock boxes in their apartment and confiscated $18,000 in cash, a Rolex watch, counterfeit Georgia state driver's licenses, credit cards in the names of neighbors, and a 2005 article from Penn's newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian, on "How to Spot Fake IDs."
A book entitled "The Art of Cheating: A Nasty Little Book for Tricky Little Schemers and Their Hapless Victims" was also found in their lavish apartment, as well as copies of the mailbox keys of every resident at Belgravia House Condos, 1811 Chestnut, and copies of door keys to about 30 percent of the building's apartments, the police source said. Police also found a picklock set.
They also found old billing statements for one neighbor and the passport of another, both apparently taken during burglaries, police said. The couple used the signature from the passport on one of the fake driver's licenses.
Investigators seized four computers, including two laptops; two copiers; a scanner, and an industrial-size machine that manufactures driver's licenses. They also found Spector spyware, which monitors computer use.
The couple are referred to as the "Bonnie and Clyde of ID fraud". Cops believe the two stole some of their neighbors' personal information by using Spector and by breaking into their homes.
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