Dad fakes death by hacking into database to avoid paying child support

A father hacked into a state database and faked his own death in an attempt to avoid paying over $100,000 in child support.

Jesse Kipf, 39, accessed the Hawaii Death Registry System using the username and password of a doctor in another state and started a ‘case’ for his death, according to the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Kentucky.

Kipf then filled out a State of Hawaii Death Certificate Worksheet and certified his death with the physician’s digital signature, per his plea agreement. His death was then registered in multiple government databases.

He admitted to faking his death partly ‘to avoid his outstanding child support obligations’, stated the US attorney’s office.

But Kipf did not stop there.

He also entered into other states’ death registries and government, corporate and private business networks and stole credentials from individuals. Kipf attempted to sell access to the networks on the dark net.

Kipf, of Somerset, in April pleaded guilty to a count of computer fraud and a count of aggravated identity theft, and had other charges against him dropped. He was sentenced on Monday to 81 months in federal prison.

‘This scheme was a cynical and destructive effort, based in part on the inexcusable goal of avoiding his child support obligations,’ stated Carlton Shier IV, who is US Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. 

Hawaii-born Kipf divorced in 2008 in California and over $116,000 in child support to his daughter and ex-wife, state court records obtained by The New York Times.

‘This case is a stark reminder of how damaging criminals with computers can be, and how critically important computer and online security is to us all,’ Shier stated.

‘Fortunately, through the excellent work of our law enforcement partners, this case will serve as a warning to other cyber criminals, and he will face the consequences of his disgraceful conduct.’

Kipf will be required to serve 85% of his sentence and will be under supervised probation for three more years. He has agreed to fork over $195,758.65 in unpaid child support and damages linked to computer systems he compromised.

‘This defendant who hacked a variety of computer systems and maliciously stole the identity of others for his own personal gain, will now pay the price,’ stated Michael Stansbury, who is a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Louisville Field Office.

Kipf’s attorney, Tommy Miceli, said: ‘We respect the court’s decision.’

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