Jesse Kipf, a 38-year-old man from Kentucky, admitted to faking his own death in order to evade paying over $100,000 in outstanding child support to his ex-wife. Kipf confessed to fabricating a Hawaii Death Certificate Worksheet, where he falsely certified himself as deceased. He even used stolen credentials to access various state death registry systems, effectively registering himself as dead in numerous government databases.
Kipf's motive for committing these cybercrimes was driven by his desire to avoid fulfilling his child support obligations. Additionally, he exploited the stolen credentials to infiltrate private business, government, and corporate networks, with the intention of selling the obtained sensitive information to other criminals online.
In addition to the charges related to faking his death, Kipf was also implicated in computer fraud cases stemming from data breaches at GuestTek Interactive Entertainment and Milestone Inc. The damage caused by Kipf's actions amounted to over $195,000, according to court documents.
As part of a plea agreement, Kipf agreed to pay restitution to various entities, including the state of Hawaii, Milestone Inc., GuestTek Interactive Entertainment, and the California child support agency. He also agreed to forfeit his electronic devices and a sum of gold and silver coins.
Kipf pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and computer fraud charges in federal court, with his sentencing hearing scheduled for April 12 in Frankfort, Kentucky. He faces a maximum of five years in federal prison for aggravated identity theft and a minimum of two years for computer fraud, along with hefty fines.
