Child support is no foreign term to many Tennessee residents. It is one of those things that generally accompany the divorce of parents with children. For one man, however, paying child support was something he disliked so much that he stopped paying it altogether and, after two years, fled the country. He holds the title of one of America’s highest child support payment debts of 1.2 million dollars.
This 50-year-old man was finally arrested in the Philippines after a federal warrant was issued in 2010. The man had spent over a decade abroad eluding authorities. Arrest warrants were issued back in 2000 and 2002. Since then he has been living in Thailand in an attempt to avoid paying his two ex wives and three children a combined $1.2 million child support debt.
In 2010, a federal warrant was issued for his arrest. Finally, in November of 2012, the deadbeat dad was arrested while trying to enter the Philippines without proper identification and was deported back to America. He will be sentenced May 21 with a penalty of up to four years in prison.
Unpaid child support debt is a serious problem in America. Over 108 billion dollars is owed in unpaid child support payments a year with only 60% of that being paid back. When those payments are not made, tax payers have to cover the cost which is around $53 billion dollars a year. Tennessee parents having difficulty paying or collecting child support should consider talking to an experienced family law attorney to discuss child support modification or enforcement actions.
Source: CNN, “Man pleads guilty to owing $1.2 million in child support,” Feb. 22, 2013
