Another exotic trip for Kirsch

A FORMER Drexel University student who engaged in an elaborate identity-fraud and theft scam with her ex-lover - the pair were dubbed "Bonnie & Clyde" by the media - was sentenced yesterday to five years in a federal prison.

Jocelyn S. Kirsch, 23, speaking softly, told U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno that she was "sorry" for what she had done and hoped that a letter she sent the judge had expressed her remorse.

Kirsch has been in federal custody since June. She pleaded guilty July 14 to conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, fraud and money-laundering charges in a scheme that paid for trips to the Caribbean, Hawaii and Paris, as well as other luxuries.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen called the sentence "fair." Defense attorney Ronald Greenblatt declined comment.

Greenblatt had argued that Kirsch be sentenced to no more than two years - the mandatory minimum for aggravated identity theft.

Greenblatt said Kirsch, who wore a green prison pants-suit and showed little emotion during the sentencing hearing, grew up in a dysfunctional family and suffered from "borderline personality disorder" that played a "central role" in the crime spree on which she and former lover Edward K. Anderton embarked.

The Daily News first reported on the duo's crime spree last Dec. 3.

Greenblatt said that Kirsch also suffered from a painful bladder ailment and that meds prescribed by doctors to treat the condition led to "disinhibition" on the part of Kirsch.

Prosecutor Lappen argued that Kirsch's crimes should not be mitigated because of mental or physical health issues.

"This was extensive, deliberate and premeditated criminal activity that wreaked havoc on the lives of the victims," he said.

Lappen noted that Kirsch had a history of arrests for retail theft dating back to 2002.

"She had opportunities to change her behavior before but instead chose to up the ante and engage in more criminal behavior," Lappen said.

The sentencing judge said the federal crimes charged here were serious.

"The defendant was living a life of crime and enjoying the fruits of that crime," Robreno said. "This is not a case of somebody who is so mentally ill that we should mitigate the conduct because of it."

Robreno also ordered Kirsch to make restitution of $101,000, of which more than $11,500 has already been set aside, and to undergo mental-health treatment while in prison.

Once her prison sentence is completed, Kirsch will be supervised by probation officials for five years.

Authorities said Kirsch and Anderton used the stolen identities of 16 victims - including friends, co-workers, neighbors and strangers - to obtain more than $119,000 between November 2006 and November 2007 to underwrite a globe-trotting, lavish lifestyle.

The money paid for vacations, flat-screen TVs, Ikea furniture, clothes and glamorous nights on the town, authorities said.

When police arrested Kirsch and Anderton on Nov. 30 and searched their apartment at the Belgravia, on Chestnut Street near 18th in Center City, they recovered bogus photo ID cards, victims' credit cards, computers, a lock-pick set and bolt cutters, keys to apartments and mailboxes at the Belgravia, a ski mask, face mask, wig and more than $18,000 in cash.

Authorities said Kirsch and Anderton stole personal checks, utility bills, credit-card statements, purses and wallets from the homes of friends, neighbors and co-workers, either when they were guests in the homes, or, in three instances, by burglarizing homes.

Sometimes they charged items on stolen credit cards and in other instances fenced items on eBay and Paypal, authorities said.

In victim-impact letters submitted to the court, Kirsch's victims recounted "dreadful experiences" and "putting their lives on hold" trying to get their credit restored.

Anderton, a former financial analyst for a local real-estate private-equity firm, is free on bail and living in Everett, Wa. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 14 and potentially faces 57 to 65 months in federal prison. *