College Student Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Identity Theft

A Philadelphia college student has been sentenced to five years in prison for stealing the identities of friends and neighbors in 2006 and 2007. She has also been ordered to pay over $100,000 in restitution to the victims.

According MSNBC, Jocelyn Kirsch, a former Drexel University student, stole the identities of friends and neighbors to obtain money to pay for expensive salon visits, fancy dinners, and exotic vacations. Kirsch committed the crimes with her then boyfriend, Edward Anderton.

Both Kirsch and Anderton confirmed that they stole more than $116,000 worth of goods and services by committing identity theft against their friends and neighbors.

Police first become aware of the scheme when an employee at an upscale salon informed police that a $2,250 check for Kirsch's hair extensions had bounced. Around the same time, one of Kirsch and Anderton's neighbors contacted the police after receiving a package that was wrongly delivered to their house.

Federal sentencing guidelines call for 70 months in prison, but U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno reduced the sentence, crediting Kirsch for her remorse over the crimes.

Anderton, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, is scheduled to be sentenced next week.

For more information about federal identity theft laws, click here to find a  white collar crimes lawyer near you!