Identity thief sentenced to 4 years, plus restitution

PHILADELPHIA — A 2001 graduate of Snohomish High School who went on to earn an Ivy League degree must serve four years in prison for a brazen identity-theft scheme that netted him and a glamorous ex-girlfriend more than $100,000 in trips, dinners and luxury goods.

Edward Anderton, 25, got a sentence one year shorter than co-defendant Jocelyn Kirsch's because she continued to commit crimes after their December arrest. Kirsch, 22, is serving a five-year sentence.

"I need to apologize to Jocelyn because I was a large part of her downfall. And if the two of us wouldn't have met, I don't think there's any chance of it escalating to where it was," Anderton told a federal judge Friday. "So I'm sorry to Jocelyn for being a part of her demise."

The pair admit they stole the identities of friends and neighbors in Philadelphia to help finance a lavish lifestyle, even though Anderton, a 2005 economics graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, had secured a good first job in finance. As the yearlong scheme went on, the couple even broke into the apartments of neighbors in their upscale apartment building to steal credit cards and other items.

Travel photos of their trips — released by police — have been widely circulated online. They show the jet-setters sporting matching swimsuits by fancy hotel pools, kissing near the Eiffel Tower and riding horseback on a beach.

When they were arrested last year, a search of the couple's $3,000-a-month apartment turned up a variety of tech toys: four computers, two printers, a scanner and an industrial machine that makes identity cards. Police also found $17,500 in cash, dozens of credit cards and fake driver's licenses, and keys to unlock many of the apartments and mailboxes in the couple's Rittenhouse Square building.

A U.S. attorney called the couple "poster children" for identity fraud.

Anderton grew up northeast of Mill Creek, in unincorporated Snohomish County. He was a member of the Mill Creek Swim Club and a star swimmer at Snohomish High, where he was named The Seattle Times' "Star of the Month" in February 2000.

Anderton acknowledged Friday that his working-class parents sacrificed to send him and a brother to college. His father, Kyle, works two jobs. And he described himself as a disciplined student-athlete growing up.

Speaking before a row full of relatives, Anderton called his crimes "atrocious." As part of the sentence, he and Kirsch are jointly responsible for more than $100,000 in restitution to dozens of victims.

Robreno told both defendants that they had enjoyed privilege and promise.

"Due to his parents' hard work and his own, he had every opportunity to succeed, and he did succeed before the unfortunate events that brought him here," Robreno said Friday.

He shaved nine months off Anderton's sentence for his cooperation and guilty plea, similar to the amount he gave Kirsch for her plea. They pleaded guilty to the same six felonies, including aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

Anderton has 45 days to report to prison.

Information from The Seattle Times archives was used in this report.