The Triangle

Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Undisclosed college friend Jocelyn Kirsch, a Drexel senior and Edward Anderton kiss (left). The couple, facing fraud, theft and burglary charges surrended to the Philadelphia Police Wednesday. The pair was arrested Friday and will return to Philadelphia for a preliminary hearing no later than February.

Media Credit: Undisclosed college friend Drexel senior Jocelyn Kirsch allegedly lived lavishly off of ill-gotten funds.

Jocelyn Kirsch always had a smile on when she worked as a camp counselor at Camp Cheerio.

"She was a very friendly and outgoing person, very nice to everyone, and I didn't really see much other than that," Megan Rahn, a member of Camp Cheerio, said. Kirsch was her camp counselor.

But Rahn wasn't shocked about the charges against Kirsch.

"Honestly, when I heard about it, I wasn't shocked at all. We had a couple of incidents of stealing at our cabin," Rahn said.

According to Rahn, Kirsch stole a cell phone from a co-counselor, food from the cabin and rainbow flip-flops. Former friends of Kirsch have been sharing old stories about her online via a Facebook group called "Jocelyn Kirsch is scandalous".

The couple, Jocelyn Kirsch, 22 and Edward Anderton, 25, surrendered to police Wednesday to face additional theft and burglary charges, according to the Philadelphia Police Department.

Kirsch and Anderton were charged with identity theft, conspiracy, unlawful use of a computer, forgery and a slew of other offenses after a neighbor uncovered the duo had opened a credit card account under her name just three weeks after she moved in.

Kirsch, a Drexel University senior majoring in international area studies, and Anderton, a 2005 graduate at the University of Pennsylvania were arrested Friday on charges of stealing some of their neighbors' identities and establishing credit lines in their names. Police expect to file more charges against the couple, according the Philadelphia Daily News.

The couple was released after posting a percentage of the $25,000 bail on Nov. 30.

Kirsch and Anderton resided on Chestnut St. towards 18th in their $3,000 a month Center City condo and enjoyed indulging on vacations to Europe and the latest technological gadgets.

The scale of the investigation and the media coverage the story received surprised Kate Agnelli, best friend of Kirsch in high school.

"She felt the need to lie, and I think that is Jocelyn Kirsch," Agnelli said. "She is not comfortable with the truth or who she is."

Agnelli commented on the Facebook group "Jocelyn Kirsch is scandalous" and how it's funny because people are saying these things about Kirsch that she knows is true.

"She was my friend and she is still a human being," Agnelli added. "I think the thing is that she is a really unhappy person."

Ian Jacobson, whose best friend dated Kirsch, wasn't surprised when he found out, but "started laughing for about 15 minutes."

"She dated a friend of mine and when I first met her, I didn't like her," Jacobson said.

"I hope that the two of them get arraigned, serve jail time, and pay back for everything that they stole," Jacobson added.

Rumors have surfaced about Kirsch's alleged Christmas gift of silicon breast implants when she was a freshman in college, according to the Daily News.

The only time that Jacobson heard about her allegedly fake breasts was when the girls talked about them. Kirsch maintained that the other girls were just jealous, according to Jacobson. "She played it off," he added.

Another source, a Drexel University college friend, says that the breasts implants were likely.

"She had a nose job and told friends that she needed it after getting hurt pole vaulting," the source said.

After friends confronted her about the pole vaulting incident, she uploaded pictures to her Facebook of other people pole vaulting and tagged herself, according to the source. The pictures have since been removed.

"I always wonder why she stayed with him. She could wrap any person around her finger," the source said.

A Drexel friend who wished to remain anonymous says she was surprised that Eddie was involved in this, and that he stayed with her. Kirsch was allegedly still dating her ex-boyfriend when she first met Eddie.

Another source, a second Drexel University college friend, believes that Kirsch "loves being in all the papers."

Unconfirmed reports say that Kirsch could be involved with the theft of a laptop at University Crossings, where her friends lived.

Kirsch, a former member of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority, walked into Giovanni and Pileggi, a Center City hair salon, to receive a set of auburn brown hair extensions. When the phony $1,700 check was refused, someone at the salon tried to contact Kirsch by phone, then with a text message, to which Kirsch allegedly replied:

"Hello. You don't know my name, but I know yours. I also know your nice place on . . . Street and how you get home at night. You're the one who should be worried," according to an article in the Philadelphia Daily News.

"The hairdresser made a police report after the incident and Kirsch was charged with terroristic threats, along with others when she was locked up on Friday," Det. Terry Sweeney of Central Detectives said.

A book titled "The Art of Cheating: A Nasty Little Book for Tricky Little Schemers and Their Hapless Victims" was found in the couple's apartment along with three safe lock boxes and $18,000 in cash, among other items.

"When one group of friends or individuals would find out who she really was, she would sneak away and immediately get another group of friends," an anonymous friend in high school said.

He recalled a story in which Kirsch would speak in a South African accent while she worked at Emerald Pointe water park as a life guard in order to convince the staff that she was South African. Kate Agnelli confirmed the story.

Officials also found old billing statements for one neighbor and the passport of another, both apparently taken during burglaries, police said. The couple used the signature from the passport on one of the fake driver's licenses, according to the Daily News.

Investigators seized four computers, including two laptops, two copiers, a scanner and an industrial-size machine that manufactures driver's licenses. They also found Spector spyware, which monitors computer use, according to the Daily News.

The District Attorney did not comment on the case, as it is currently an open investigation.

University officials declined to comment on any disciplinary action citing federal privacy laws but a University spokeswoman confirmed Kirsch is "currently enrolled at Drexel" as of Dec. 6.


For updates as the case unfolds, stay tuned to The Triangle web site.
NOTE: This story has been corrected. Sources were incorrectly attributed to the Inquirer while the Daily News was first to report the information.

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