Kentucky Dad Who Faked His Death to Avoid Child Support Payments Gets Nearly 7 Years in Prison

A Kentucky father has been sentenced to nearly seven years in federal prison after admitting he faked his own death to avoid paying more than $100,000 in child support payments, authorities said.

Jesse Kipf, 39, was sentenced to 81 months byU.S. District Judge Robert Wier earlier this week, the Justice Department announced.

Kipf had entered a plea agreement in March, admitting he owed more than $116,000 in back child support to his ex-wfe. In exchange, he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of computer fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, according to the plea agreement.

"This scheme was a cynical and destructive effort, based in part on the inexcusable goal of avoiding his child support obligations," prosecutor Carlton Shier 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," Shier said.

Kipf acknowledged hacking into the Hawaii Death Registry System in January 2023 with a username and password belonging to a doctor in another state, and then creating and certifying a death certificate in his name, prosecutors said.

He alsohacked into death registry systems in other states, private business networks and government sites, attempting to sell identitiy informationon the dark web, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Defense attorney Tommy Micelia said, "We respect the court’s decision," at his client's sentencing hearing.

Kipf is a military veteran who served fromJune 2007 to May 2008 during Iraq War, his attorney said. After being "generally discharged under honorable conditions” in 2009, Kipf struggled with drug addiction that “led to an increase in reckless and criminal behavior,” Micelia had earlier told the court.

Prosecutors also said Kipf had caused tens of thousands in damages to the private and government sites he'd hacked. As part of the plea deal, Kipf agreed to pay$195,758.65— which includes the $116,000 in back child support— to cover those costs.

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