After attempting to evade his unpaid child support duties, Jesse Kipf, 39, of Somerset, Kentucky, was found guilty of computer fraud and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Kipf entered Hawaii’s death record system in January of last year, according to a statement from US attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Carlton Shier.
The 39-year-old finished a worksheet for an Aloha State death certificate and made a case for his own death using login credentials from a doctor who practiced in a different region of the US.
Consequently, Kipf was entered into multiple official databases as a deceased individual.
Using credentials he had obtained from actual persons, he also gained access to additional state registry systems and private networks, which he then tried to resell on the dark web.
“This scheme was a cynical and destructive effort, based in part on the inexcusable goal of avoiding his child support obligations,” stated Mr. Shier in a statement.
This case serves as a sobering reminder of the harm that computer-related criminals can cause as well as the vital importance of the internet and computer security for all of us.
