Kentucky Greater GC – A man from Kentucky has been sentenced to over six years in prison for hacking into the state death registry systems in an attempt to fake his own death. The man, who was trying to evade over $100,000 in unpaid child support, was found guilty and sentenced by the court on Tuesday.
Jesse Kipf, aged 39, received his sentencing on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. This came as part of a plea agreement on charges of computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to prosecutors, in a news release, it was revealed that in January 2023, Kipf managed to gain access to the Hawaii death registry system by using the credentials of a physician who resided in a different state. He then proceeded to create a case for his own death.
He filled out a worksheet for the Hawaii death certificate, where he designated himself as the medical certifier for the case and used the doctor’s digital signature to certify the death. This led to his name being listed as a deceased person in various government databases, according to the statement.
He confessed to faking his own death in order to evade his unpaid child support obligations.
According to the sentencing memorandum, he had a debt of over $116,000.
He didn’t just stop there.
According to prosecutors, Kipf not only targeted state death registry systems but also managed to infiltrate private business networks, as well as government and corporate networks, by using stolen credentials of real individuals. The release stated that he then attempted to sell access to these networks on the dark web.
In the sentencing memorandum, it was revealed that Kipf admitted to possessing databases of personal identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers and medical records, on his electronic devices. He further confessed to selling these databases to international buyers, including individuals from Algeria, Russia, and Ukraine.
The state death registry systems incurred repair costs of almost $80,000. Moreover, the consequences of this damage cannot be fully quantified, as it has led to challenges in rectifying the networks and has caused harm to individuals whose personally identifying information was exposed, stolen, or misused.
Kipf is required to serve 85% of his prison sentence. After his release, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years. We have reached out to his attorney for comment, but they have not responded yet.
According to a news release from the Justice Department, Kipf was indicted by a federal grand jury in November. The initial charges against him included five counts of computer fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft. He was accused of unlawfully accessing state websites for Arizona, Hawaii, and Vermont, as well as the businesses GuestTek Interactive Entertainment Ltd. and Milestone Inc.
According to Carlton S. Shier IV, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, he described the plot as “cynical and destructive.”
“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,” he said. “Fortunately, through the excellent work of our law enforcement partners, this case will serve as a warning to other cyber criminals, and he will face the consequences of his disgraceful conduct.”
