Man Facing Prison for Faking His Death to Avoid Child Support

A Kentucky man is facing years in prison after he faked his own death in order to avoid making child support payments.

Jesse Kipf, 38, pled guilty in a federal court to one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a maximum five-year sentence; and one count of computer fraud, which carries a maximum two-year sentence.

Kipf apparently committed the crimes to create a fake death certificate so that he could be legally recognized as deceased, according to a plea agreement posted by Law and Crime. “The Defendant faked his own death, in part, in order to avoid his outstanding child support obligations to his ex-wife,” the plea documents state.

To obtain the falsified death certificate, Kipf posed as a doctor and then accessed the Hawaii Death Registry System.

“On January 21, 2023, the Defendant assigned himself as the medical certifier for the case and certified that case,” reads the plea deal. “He applied a digital signature for [the physician], providing his name, title, and license number. This resulted in the Defendant being registered as deceased in many government databases.”

According to prosecutors, Kipf “infiltrated other states’ death registry systems” by assuming other false identities, which allowed him to be listed as legally deceased in even more government databases.

But Kipf’s deception wasn’t solely to avoid child support obligations. He also admitted that he used the false identities to access computer networks of various government agencies, private businesses, and corporate networks; and then attempted to sell access to those sites to others online.

“In doing so, the Defendant caused damage to multiple computer networks and stole the identities of numerous individuals,” the plea agreement said.

Kipf’s ruse reportedly cost the various victims and institutions more than $195,000. He’s expected back in a Kentucky court on April 12. In addition to facing a combined seven years in the slammer, each of Kipf’s charges carries a maximum fine of $250,000—no doubt, much more than he would have ever paid in child support.