A Kentucky father, Jesse Kipf, recently pleaded guilty to faking his own death in an elaborate ruse to avoid paying over $100,000 in outstanding child support to his ex-wife. This admission came after Kipf was indicted by the United States Attorney’s Office in November for committing cyber crimes. The FBI, along with other law enforcement agencies, discovered Kipf’s fraud, leading him to face serious legal consequences.
Kipf confessed to creating a fake death certificate for himself using a Hawaii Death Certificate Worksheet. He falsified the document, assigned himself as the medical certifier, and certified his own death. Prosecutors alleged that Kipf’s actions were driven by his desire to evade his child support obligations. Additionally, he accessed various states’ death registry systems using stolen credentials, which resulted in his information being registered as deceased in multiple government databases.
Apart from faking his death, Kipf used the stolen credentials to infiltrate private business, government, and corporate networks. His goal was to sell sensitive information obtained through his fraudulent actions to other criminals online. This led to significant damage to multiple computer networks and the theft of numerous individuals’ identities. Kipf was charged with computer fraud related to data breaches at GuestTek Interactive Entertainment and Milestone Inc., which authorities estimated caused damages exceeding $195,000, according to court documents.
As part of the plea agreement, Kipf agreed to pay restitution of $3,500 to Hawaii, $56,247 to Milestone Inc., $19,653 to GuestTek Interactive Entertainment, and $116,357 to the California child support agency. Additionally, he agreed to forfeit his electronic devices and $16,218 in gold and silver coins. Initially facing multiple charges, including computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, which carried a maximum of 30 years imprisonment, Kipf’s sentence was reduced after accepting the plea deal.
Kipf’s sentencing hearing is set for April 12 in federal court 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 a steep fine of $250,000, as stipulated in the plea agreement. The entire ordeal highlights the consequences of criminal behavior aimed at evading financial responsibilities and defrauding individuals and organizations through false identities and cyber crimes. Jesse Kipf’s case serves as a cautionary tale of the legal repercussions associated with attempting to deceive authorities to escape legal obligations.
