Pulaski County Man Who Admitted to Faking Death To Avoid Paying Child Support Sentenced

A Pulaski County man who admitted to faking his death to avoid paying child support has been sentenced. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jesse Kipf was sentenced to 81 months, about six and a half years. Kipf pleaded guilty in April to computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. In 2023, Kipf used a computer to access Hawaii’s death registry system, where he created a fake death certificate for himself. His plea document says he did this to avoid paying child support fees of more than $100,000. Kipf also hacked other government and business networks to steal credentials. The damage to governmental and corporate computer systems and his failure to pay his child support obligations totaled about $200,000. Kipf was initially charged with multiple counts of computer fraud and identity theft, but thanks to his plea deal, he was able to drop many of them. Under federal law, Kipf must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.