Jesse Kipf pleaded guilty to computer fraud and identity theft after he created a fake death certificate for himself

A man in southern Kentucky has admitted in court to faking his own death to avoid paying more than $100,000 in outstanding child support to his ex-wife.

Jesse Kipf, 39, pleaded guilty on 29 March in federal court to computer fraud and identity theft after he accessed Hawaii’s death registry system and posed as a doctor from another state in order to create a fake death certificate for himself.

According to a plea agreement filed in court, Kipf filled out a Hawaii death certificate worksheet in early 2023, essentially assigned himself as the medical certifier for the case and certified his own death.