Hacker dad who faked dying to keep away from little one help sentenced to jail

A Kentucky man has been sentenced to almost seven years in jail after hacking into state registries to faux his personal dying, in hopes of avoiding about $116,000 in little one help funds.

In a press launch, the US Legal professional’s Workplace wrote that Jesse Kipf, 39, was sentenced for expenses together with laptop fraud and aggravated id theft. On high of hacking state dying registries in Arizona, Hawaii, and Vermont, Kipf additionally “hacked into non-public companies and tried to promote entry to networks on the darkish net” and stole identities of actual individuals to open two credit score accounts.

Now, Kipf has agreed to pay $195,758.65 in damages, together with the kid help owed to his ex-wife and practically $80,000 to restore harm to the state dying registries.

Carlton S. Shier IV, the US lawyer for the Japanese District of Kentucky, mentioned that Kipf’s “scheme was a cynical and harmful effort, based mostly partly on the inexcusable purpose of avoiding his little one help obligations.”

It is unclear how the scheme was found, nevertheless it was launched in January 2023 when Kipf used “the username and password of a doctor residing in one other state” to entry the Hawaii Loss of life Registry System and created a “case” for his faux dying, the US Legal professional’s Workplace mentioned.

He then “assigned himself because the medical certifier for the case and authorized his dying, utilizing the digital signature of the physician,” the press launch mentioned.

After that, Kipf was registered as “a deceased individual in lots of authorities databases,” the US Legal professional’s workplace mentioned, however he did not cease there. He furthered his scheme for months, hacking into registries in Arizona and Vermont, in addition to “non-public enterprise networks and governmental and company networks,” utilizing “credentials he stole from actual individuals.”

It appeared that Kipf’s purpose in hacking two companies that present providers for accommodations—Visitor-Tek Interactive Leisure Ltd. And Milestone, Inc.—was to steal extra information to promote on the darkish net. However though these firms present providers together with “using the Web throughout lodge stays or use of lodge web sites,” the US Legal professional’s Workplace discovered “no proof that Kipf accessed the personally figuring out data of lodge clients.”

Kipf admitted that his scheme was supposed to dodge little one help funds after investigators seized his units—together with reminiscence playing cards, exterior onerous drives, and an HP laptop computer—and located proof that he had researched whether or not faking his dying would cancel his obligation. His search historical past confirmed searches for “California little one help arrears father died” and “take away California little one help for deceased,” The Washington Put up reported.

However investigators additionally discovered proof of different money-making schemes on his units, together with databases with Social Safety numbers and medical information, “which he offered ‘to worldwide consumers, together with people from Algeria, Russia, and Ukraine,'” NBC Information reported. Moreover, Kipf “obtained a faux Social Safety quantity to proceed residing his life below a brand new id,” the Put up reported.

These different components of his scheme led to “untold penalties in making an attempt to rectify the networks and the hurt to the people whose personally figuring out data was uncovered, stolen, or misused,” prosecutors argued forward of sentencing. And “by trying to kill himself off to keep away from little one help obligations,” Kipf “continues to re-victimize his daughter and her mom,” prosecutors argued.

Shier mentioned within the press launch that Kipf’s sentencing would hopefully discourage others from trying comparable schemes.

“This case is a stark reminder of how damaging criminals with computer systems might be and the way critically essential laptop and on-line safety is to us all,” Shier mentioned. “Fortuitously, by way of the superb work of our regulation enforcement companions, this case will function a warning to different cyber criminals, and he’ll face the results of his disgraceful conduct.”

Kipf’s lawyer, Thomas Miceli, instructed the Put up that he and Kipf “respect the courtroom’s resolution.”