Kentucky veteran who faked his own death to avoid child support sentenced to prison

A Kentucky resident who faked his death to avoid paying child support has been sentenced to six years and nine months in federal prison.

Jesse Kipf, 39, of Somerset avoided more than $116,000 in child support before he was caught, according to the court record.

Kipf accessed the death registry system in Hawaii in 2023 with the username and password of a doctor in another state and completed a death certificate for himself, then used the doctor’s name, title and license number on it, according to his plea agreement.

As a result, he was listed as deceased in many government databases.

Kipf’s attorney, Thomas P. Miceli, said in a sentencing memorandum that Kipf served in the military for about three years and was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and 2008.

The psychological trauma Kipf experienced in war increased his drug addiction, and that “led to an increase in reckless and criminal behavior,” Miceli said.

Kipf also has been diagnosed with paranoid delusions and schizophrenic tendencies, Miceli said in advocating for a lower sentence for Kipf.

However, the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn M. Dieruf, said in a sentencing memo that Kipf’s “online exploits displayed an unusual breadth, recklessness, and disregard for victims.”

Kipf identified vulnerabilities in state death-registry systems and used identifying information he stole from real doctors to create fake death certificates for himself, Dieruf wrote.

He posted information for sale on darknet forums on how other people could illegally access the death registry systems, according to the memo.

In addition, Kipf hacked into private business computer networks and admitted selling one company’s databases to Russians, according to the prosecution memo.

Dieruf acknowledged Kipf was a decorated veteran, but said the U.S. Army charged him for theft and damage to government property, and noted he had been charged in Texas with fraudulent use of identifying information and in Nebraska with criminal possession of financial transaction devices.

Kipf has charges pending against him in Somerset for allegedly stealing credit card numbers to pay for food deliveries through services such as Door Dash, according to the prosecution memo.

The charges point up Kipf’s decision “to avoid ever obtaining legitimate employment, and instead to apply his ample technical knowledge towards making a living by stealing from others,” Dieruf wrote.

When he was arrested, Kipf told police he hadn’t had a legitimate job for five years and was selling identities to support himself.

He pleaded guilty to computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.

U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier sentenced Kipf Monday in federal court in London.