A Dad Did Not Want to Pay His Ex-Wife Over $100,000 in Child Support, So He Faked His Death

A Kentucky man confessed to faking his death so that he would not have to pay over $100,000 in child support to his ex-wife.

Jesse Kipf, 39, managed to gain access to the Hawaii Death Registry System, where in January 2023 he created a case file for his death, assigned that case to himself, and then certifiedthat case using the credentials of a physician without that individual's knowledge or authorization, according to a plea agreement obtained by Inside Edition Digital.

As a result, he managed to avoid having to make $116,357.77 in child support payments to his ex-wife, according to the agreement signed by Kipf last month.

Kipf also gained illegal access to internal websites run by entities including the State of Arizona , State of Vermont ,GuestTek Interactive Entertainment and Milestone, Inc., according to court filings.

GuestTek and Milestone are vendors of large hotel chains, but prosecutors noted that there is no evidence that Kipf accessed the personal information of any guests who stayed at these properties.

A federal grand jury indicted Kipf in November 2023 onfive counts of computer fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and two counts of making false statements on applications in connection with federally insured financial institutions.

He faced a potential sentence of over 60 years in prison if convicted on all those charges, but as part of his deal prosecutors are recommending he serve just seven years after agreeing to plead guilty to one count of computer fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Kipf's re-arraignment is now set for later this week.

He will also have to pay $116,357.77 in restitution to State of California Child Support Services for those missed support payments as well as $56, 247.50 to Milestone and $19,653.38 to GuestTek for damages caused when he illegally accessed those corporate networks, according to the agreement.

On top of that, the judge can impose a fine of up to $250,000 for each of the two counts, according to the agreement.

The exact details of Kipf's alleged crimes are unknown beyond the allegation that he attempted to sell stolen data from the websites he illegally accessed because many of the filingshave remained under seal since the start of the case last year.

Kipf agreed to a deal just two weeks before the start of his federal jury trial in Kentucky.

Inside Edition Digital reached out to Kipf's lawyer but he did not respond to a request for comment.

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