Lawyer says Everett man, ex-girlfriend OK plea deal

PHILADELPHIA — A brash college student whose life of luxury came crashing down with her arrest on identity-theft charges now admits that many others who crossed her path unwittingly financed the fun.

Jocelyn Kirsch, 22, and her ex-boyfriend Edward K. Anderton, 25, of Everett, have signed federal plea agreements that will likely send them to prison for several years, her lawyer said Monday. The same day, charges stemming from the $120,000 scheme were moved to federal court.

"He would have brought the brains, the technical know-how. She would have brought the unadulterated greed, and ... seduced him," Philadelphia Detective Terry Sweeney, the lead investigator, said Monday.

The pair stole credit-card and bank-account information from friends, co-workers and neighbors to finance lavish purchases and trips to Europe and the Caribbean, prosecutors said.

They snatched unattended purses at their favorite downtown nightclub, broke into neighboring units at their $3,000-a-month Rittenhouse Square apartment and stole information from colleagues at Anderton's firm and Kirsch's corporate internship, U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said.

Kirsch, who signed her agreement Friday, will plead guilty to two counts of aggravated identity theft, money laundering, bank fraud and other charges, her lawyer, Ronald Greenblatt, said. The charges carry a mandatory two-year minimum sentence and a guideline range of about five years.

Anderton also signed a plea deal, Greenblatt said. His lawyer, Larry Krasner, did not return messages left with The Associated Press on Monday.