Sentencing today for Edward Anderton in fraud scam

Bad relationships usually result in heartbreak.

Edward Anderton today learns the cost - in years in prison - of his "toxic relationship" with ex-girlfriend and fellow identity scammer Jocelyn Kirsch.

Anderton, 25, the male half of the team popularly nicknamed "Bonnie and Clyde," will be sentenced this afternoon in federal court for his guilty plea to charges of helping cheat up to 50 friends, neighbors and others out of more than $116,000 to bankroll a year of international travel and high living.

Kirsch, 23, a former Drexel University student who drew heavy media coverage when her photo, posed in a bikini, was posted on the Internet, was sentenced last month to 70 to 81 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno.

Kirsch, who experts testified has serious psychological problems and a history of retail theft, including charges she used a stolen credit card while on bail awaiting a federal court hearing, faced a longer potential prison term than Anderton.

In a federal court filing this month, Anderton's attorney, Lawrence S. Krasner, argued that Anderton deserves a lesser sentence than his former paramour because his criminal conduct lasted only as long as the relationship with Kirsch. Krasner wrote that Anderton has worked since his guilty plea saving money to pay victim restitution.

"Mr. Anderton does not blame Ms. Kirsch: he asserts that he is equally culpable with Ms. Kirsch for his part in the conspiracy," Krasner wrote. "Yet the conclusion that the relationship between Ms. Kirsch and Mr. Anderton was toxic is inescapable and is evidence that Mr. Anderton's permanently ending that relationship will be a positive factor in his rehabilitation."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen filed a sentencing memo urging Robreno to imposed a sentence within the federal sentencing guideline range of 57 to 65 months.

While crediting Anderton's decision to plead guilty and accept responsibility for his criminal conduct, Lappen wrote that Anderton comes from an upper-middle-class background, graduated from high school with a 3.99 grade point average and earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

"The government recognizes that this is a highly impressive background that one does not regularly see in the criminal justice system," Lappen wrote. "It is also obvious that Anderton did not need to steal to support himself as he had an excellent job and tremendous potential for success. Put simply, Anderton should have known better."