Deadbeat Dad’s Bizarre Fake Death Scam Exposed: Kentucky Man Gets Hit With Prison Time!
A Kentucky man’s twisted plot to fake his own death to dodge child support payments has landed him a sentence in federal prison. 🌐 #News #LondonKY #Kentucky #Crime
LONDON, KY – A Kentucky man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for hacking state records to fake his death in order to avoid paying child support, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky announced Tuesday.
Jesse Kipf, 39, was sentenced to 81 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to the plea agreement, Kipf admitted accessing the Hawaii Death Registry System in January 2023, using the login credentials of a physician living in another state.
He created a “case” for his own death, completed a State of Hawaii Death Certificate Worksheet, and certified the death using the digital signature of the physician.
Kipf further accessed other states’ death registry systems, as well as private, government and corporate networks using stolen credentials, and tried to sell access to those networks to potential buyers on the dark web.
“This scheme was a cynical and destructive effort, based in part on the inexcusable goal of avoiding his child support obligations,” Carlton S. Shier, IV, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, said in a statement.
“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. 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.”
Prosecutors said the damage to governmental and corporate computer systems plus his outstanding child support obligations amounted to a total of $195,758,65.
“Working in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, 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,” said Michael E. Stansbury, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office.
“Victims of identity theft face lifelong impact and for that reason, the FBI will pursue anyone foolish enough to engage in this cowardly behavior.”
Kipf will be required to serve at least 85% of his sentence before being released, and will then be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.
Written by TMX staff, with additional reporting by Jack and Kitty Norton.
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