Dramatic much? Man fakes death to avoid paying R1.9 million child maintenance

A US man faces several years in prison for illegally accessing the internet death register system and faking his own death. Picture: Pexels

A US man faces several years in prison for illegally accessing the internet death register system and faking his own death. Picture: Pexels

Published Apr 15, 2024

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Child maintenance can be touchy subject. Some parents wilfully choose to stop or not support their kids. But, this man may have gone too far as he allegedly faked his death to avoid providing from his child.

The US man now faces several years in prison for illegally accessing the internet death register system and faking his own death to avoid paying over R1.9 million in child support to his ex-partner.

According The Guardian, he admitted to accessing Hawaii’s death register system using login information taken from a doctor in the same state in January of last year.

Investigators said he established and assigned himself a file in the system, then impersonated the doctor to certify his death.

He also allegedly confessed to illegally accessing different state-run websites, which led to him being labelled as deceased in several government databases.

In a plea agreement, the defendant stated that he committed these offences in order to avoid paying outstanding child support to his previous wife.

“He completed a State of Hawaii Death Certificate Worksheet, and then, on January 21, 2023, the defendant assigned himself as the medical certifier for the case and certified that case.

“He applied a digital signature, providing his name, title, and license number. This resulted in the defendant being registered as deceased in many government database,” the agreement read.

Under to the plea deal, he must repay the persons he deceived by his acts, including R2.2 million in child support to his ex-wife and R1.5 million to the government and business networks he fraudulently entered.

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