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Protip: If you are going to fake your own death in order to get out of paying child support for your kids, don’t just go hang out at your girlfriend’s house after you’ve done it. That is a lesson an Indiana man learned the hard way last week.
According to Indiana State Police (ISP), “In April of 2024, ISP Detective Travis Baker met with the Washington County Child Support Administrator, who said she received emails stating Jeffrey Lynn Bell Jr. had passed away. The emails related that due to Mr. Bell’s death, a large amount of child support owed by Bell would go unpaid. Detective Baker was also informed that Jeffrey Bell was allegedly still living and staying at a residence in northern Washington County with his girlfriend.”
Ruh roh.
“Soon after, Detective Baker responded to the possible residence and encountered a man who Baker would eventually identify as Jeffrey Bell Jr., despite initial claims to the contrary,” the ISP statement continued. “As a result of this investigation, the Washington County Prosecutor initially charged Jeffrey Bell with False Informing and provided an initial court date.”
But wait, there’s more.
“On Thursday, January 23rd, Jeffrey Bell Jr. appeared in the Washington County Circuit Court via a virtual online meeting regarding the False Informing charges,” ISP explained. “Bell made his court appearance virtually instead of an in-person meeting due to allegedly being out of the state. However, during the online court proceedings, officials came to believe Jeffrey Bell was still in Indiana and attending the virtual meeting from the same Washington County residence where Detective Baker had initially contacted Bell.
“Washington County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the residence while the virtual meeting was ongoing. Information gained at the house after the officer’s arrival confirmed Jeffrey Bell Jr. was inside the residence and not out of state, prompting presiding Judge Larry Medlock to order Bell taken into custody and transported immediately to his courtroom.”
Jeffrey Bell Jr. is now charged with three counts of Failing to Appear, one count of False Informing, and one count of Contempt of Court and was incarcerated in the Washington County Jail.
And, as crazy is this may sound, this is the second time in less than a year that someone has faked their own death to get out of paying child support and gotten caught.
Last August, Jesse Kipf of Somerset, Kentucky had managed to avoid paying more than $116,000 in child support by faking his own death before being caught. Kipf was just a little more clever though.
His scheme involved hacking into the Hawaii Death Registry System and created and certified a fake death certificate in his name. Not only that, he also hacked into other states’ death registry systems as well as private business networks and governmental and corporate networks “using credentials stolen from real people.”
Kipf is now serving a sentence of six years and nine months in prison for computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.