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Man who fled country owes $1.6 million in back child support

On Behalf of | Nov 16, 2012 | Family Law

A record of sorts has reportedly been set by a man for owing more child support than any other individual in the country. Pennsylvania readers may be interested in following the case, which recently took a turn for the worse for the accused man when he was arrested by federal authorities after six years away from the country. It is a federal crime to leave the United States for the purpose of avoiding the payment of child support.

The estimated child support payments owed by the man are said to be about $1.6 million. That is approximately a half a million more than the next person on the infamous list. After the arrest, a federal judge set his bail at $500,000. Reportedly not immediately able to come up with that sum, he remained incarcerated.

The child support case got its start in Jan. 2006. The man was on vacation with his wife and three kids in Hong Kong when he disappeared. His children were ages 2, 6 and 8 at the time. Unbeknown to the wife, the husband and father had liquidated all of his assets in the United States, including selling the martial home without the knowledge of his wife. She subsequently sued for divorce and was awarded close to $10,000 monthly in child support, only to discover the husband claimed to have already obtained a divorce from her in Bangladesh, where he lived with a new wife.

Child support orders are handled seriously in Pennsylvania. Many people are not aware of the federal statue making it a crime to leave the country just to avoid paying. The criminal case will now run its course, and one goal will likely be to seek restitution of back due child support payments. Those that willfully avoid paying child support run the risk of suffering severe penalties in addition to continuing to owe the funds.

Source: New York Post, “Feds bust country’s worst deadbeat dad, who owes $1.6M,” Brad Hamilton, Nov. 3, 2012

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