The Daily Populous Friday August 23rd, 2024 evening edition
Authored by bbc.com and submitted by 554555472

Dad hacks database to fake death and avoid child support pay

Jesse Kipf's mugshot - he was sentenced to 81 months in jail

A man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison after hacking into a state database to fake his death, and get out of paying child support.

Jesse Kipf from Kentucky, in the US, was sentenced to 81 months for computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The 39-year-old admitted to accessing the Hawaii Death Registry System in January last year and creating a “case” for 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.

It meant he was successfully registered as a deceased person in many government databases.

Kipf admitted that he did it to avoid his outstanding child support obligations of more than $100,000.

The hacker also accessed other death registry systems and companies in unrelated attacks that he carried out using the stolen log in details of real physicians and workers.

He was found to be offering to sell access to the systems and selling stolen databases containing private information like Social Security Numbers to other cyber criminals on the darknet.

The darknet is a portion of the internet only accessible through specialist software that hides a browser’s identity. There are many darknet marketplaces where cyber criminals sell stolen data or access to compromised IT systems.

Kipf sold to international buyers, including individuals from Algeria, Russia and Ukraine, the court was reportedly told.

“This scheme was a cynical and destructive effort, based in part on the inexcusable goal of avoiding his child support obligations,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Under federal law, Kipf must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence and will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.

The damage to governmental and corporate computer systems and his failure to pay his child support obligations amounted to a total of $195,758.65.

The_Code_Hero on August 23rd, 2024 at 14:40 UTC »

Can this be done for student loans? Asking for a friend …

newswall-org on August 23rd, 2024 at 10:51 UTC »

More on this subject from other reputable sources:

New York Times (B+): Man Who U.S. Says Faked Death to Avoid Child Support Gets 81 Months in Prison BleepingComputer (A-): Man sentenced for hacking state registry to fake his own death Washington Post (B): Hacker who faked his death to avoid child support sentenced to prison Ars Technica (B): Hacker dad who faked death to avoid child support sentenced to prison

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Spottswoodeforgod on August 23rd, 2024 at 10:48 UTC »

Taking the phrase “deadbeat dad” a bit too literally…