A US man has been sentenced to 81 months in jail for faking his own death by hacking government systems and officially marking himself as deceased.
The US Department of Justice on Tuesday detailed the case of Jesse Kipf, 39, who was sent down for computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.
In January 2023 Kipf used the credentials of a physician to access Hawaii's Death Registry System and create a "case" that recorded his own death.
"Kipf then completed a State of Hawaii Death Certificate Worksheet, assigned himself as the medical certifier for the case and certified his death, using the digital signature of the doctor," the DoJ wrote. The paperwork was all correct, so many government databases listed Kipf as deceased.
But he was very much alive and enjoying the fact that his "death" meant he didn't have make make child support payments or catch up on those he'd already missed. Evidence tendered in court included internet search histories recorded on a laptop, with Kipf looking up terms including "Remove California child support for deceased."
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Not satisfied with faking his own death, Kipf stole other credentials and used them to access other states' death registries, private business networks, and governmental and corporate networks.
"He then tried to sell access to these networks to potential buyers on the dark net," the DoJ asserted.
Kip admitted to his acts. Once released – which will be in at least five years and eight months – he'll face a bill for over $195,000 to cover both his overdue child support payments and the cost of damage he inflicted on the various computers he accessed.
The New York Times reports Kipf has previously been convicted of possessing financial transaction devices that did not belong to him, and also faces charges for using stolen credit cards. ®