
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- A young couple moved into a high-end condominium complex in Philadelphia and soon thereafter held a house warming, inviting all of their neighbors.
They were living the high life.
They vacationed in Europe, the Caribbean and North America.
But police said their high living was financed with other people's money, that of several of their neighbors.
Now, police are calling them the "Bonnie and Clyde" of identity fraud.
Jocelyn Kirsch, 22, and Edward Anderton, 25, face a slew of charges.
Authorities said the two bilked local businesses and credit card companies to bankroll the lavish lifestyle.
They allegedly squandered the money on expensive trips, designer clothes, furniture and high-tech electronics.
"These are two young people who have been given substantial gifts in life," said Philadelphia Police Detective Terry Sweeney.
Police said don't let pictures of the couple in happier times fool you.
"They're like a parasite that infested themselves in the building and then, basically, spread throughout the building," Sweeney said.
According to investigators, Anderton and Kirsch obtained most of the mailbox and door keys of their neighbors.
That allegedly allowed them to get personal information and steal their neighbors' identities.
Police confiscated real and fake drivers' licenses, credit cards, nearly $18,000 in cash, ID-making machines, a book titled 'The Art of Cheating' and software that can be used to get information from a computer.
Police said they don't know how the couple was able to obtain all of the keys to the mailboxes and condo units.
"What they may have done with the keys is maybe enter and place that software on unknowing parties computers, and then wait to recoup whatever information they could from that software," Sweeney said.
Jigi Driscoll, a condo resident who believes she was victimized by the couple, said, "The locks would be a little bit different. So, if I went for a short walk and I didn't lock the deadbolt, I would come back and the deadbolt would be locked."
"It doesn't feel great to be a potential victim," Driscoll said.
Police said they are aware of at least five victims but believe there are a lot more.
Authorities became aware of the alleged operation, which they said had been on-going for about a year, when a woman in the condo building was called by a UPS store about a package she said she hadn't ordered.
They were arrested when they came to pick it up.
They were charged and released on bail.
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Created: 12/5/2007 3:13:01 PM 


