It’s election season in the United States, and congressional candidates from rival Democratic and Republican parties are campaigning hard to woo voters as usual.

In the race for Ohio’s seat in the US Senate, incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown is trying to retain his post against rival Bernie Moreno. But Brown’s campaign is under scrutiny by the election commission over a reported illegal donation from a supporter.

Based on the complaint against Brown filed by Ohio’s secretary of state with the commission, the $350 donation of Carol Ann Baker of Toledo to the Friends of Sherrod Brown campaign committee was illegal because it was received months after she died in December 2023. Her husband submitted an affidavit as proof of her death that month.

Meanwhile, the status of Jesse Kipf in the Hawaii Death Registry System was changed to “deceased” in January 2023.

Using the stolen username, password, and digital signature of a physician, the 39-year-old Kipf himself breached the database and filled out the State of Hawaii Death Certificate Worksheet, assigning himself as the medical certifier for the case and certifying his own death, according to the BBC.

When police discovered the fraud and charged Kipf, he pleaded guilty, admitting he faked his own death to avoid paying more than $100,000 in child support and to sell access to the network.

On 19 August, Kipf was sentenced to 81 months in prison for his cybercrimes.