Formerly fugitive deadbeat sentenced, ordered to pay $534K
August 24, 2018
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A man who was wanted for nearly 20 years for not paying child support in southwestern Michigan has been sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $534,000 in restitution.
The Kalamazoo Gazette reports Joseph Stroup also was sentenced in Grand Rapids federal court this week to one year of supervised release. The 65-year-old Stroup pleaded guilty in May.
Stroup was known as Joop Cousteau before his arrest earlier this year in Canada after a restaurateur found him on a U.S. government website that listed "wanted deadbeats." The government says his overdue support for four children in Van Buren County exceeded $500,000.
Stroup was ordered to pay child support during a 1989 divorce. Investigators say he fled, despite selling an internet business for more than $2 million.
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Information from: Kalamazoo Gazette, http://www.mlive.com/kalamazoo