US man fakes death to avoid $100,000 in child support, faces jail

A 38-year-old Kentucky man faked his death to avoid paying his ex-wife more than $100,000 in outstanding child support.

According to the New York Post, Jesse Kipf admitted to filling out a Hawaii death certificate worksheet in January 2023, creating a false death certificate and “appointing himself as a medical certifier in the case and The case was certified.”

Prosecutors argued that Kipf was motivated by his desire to avoid paying “his ex-wife’s outstanding child support obligations,” the plea agreement said.

He was still alive at the time and then used stolen credentials to “infiltrate other states’ death registration systems,” according to the plea agreement.

“He applied a digital signature [the physician], providing his name, title and license number. This resulted in the defendant being registered as dead in numerous government databases. ”

Kipf also used his stolen credentials to gain access to private business, government, and corporate networks with the intent of selling the sensitive information he fraudulently obtained to other online scammers.

In January, Kipf was charged with computer fraud stemming from data breaches at GuestTek Interactive Entertainment in February 2023 and Milestone Inc. in June 2023.

Authorities estimate Kipf’s losses as a result of child support evasion and the Internet’s involvement are more than $195,000, according to court documents.

Under the plea agreement, Kipf agreed to pay $3,500 to the state of Hawaii, $56,247 to Milestone Inc., $19,653 to GuestTek Interactive Entertainment and $116,357 to the California Child Support Agency.

He also agreed to forfeit his electronic devices and $16,218 worth of gold and silver coins.

Kipf pleaded guilty in federal court on March 29 to aggravated identity theft and computer fraud, the New York Post reported.

Under the plea agreement, Kipf now faces up to five years in federal prison for the aggravated identity theft charge and at least two years in federal prison for the computer fraud charge, both of which carry a $250,000 fine.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 12 in federal court in Frankfort, Kentucky.