Most Wanted Deadbeat Dad Captured, Owes $560K In Child Support

KALAMAZOO, MI — A Michigan man who made millions off the sale of his internet company and topped the federal government’s “most wanted deadbeat” list for failure to pay nearly $560,000 in back child support was captured in Canada. Joseph W. Stroup, 64, was expected to be arraigned Friday in federal court in Chicago.

In 1989, Stroup claimed he was a medically disabled pauper and convinced the court to lower the $100 monthly payment for the care of his four children to $14 a month, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which keeps the deadbeat list.

In 1996, though, the court learned he was operating a successful internet business that he ultimately sold for more than $2 million. The child support order was then modified to account for the unreported income, and Stroup hasn’t paid any child support since then, HHS said. A warrant for his arrest was issued in July 1998 after his indictment in U.S. District Court in Kalamazoo. As of 2014, Stroup’s child support debt stood at $559,900.

Stroup is part of a multi-billion-dollar problem in the United States. As of April 2017, about 5.5 million non-custodial parents owed $114 billion in past-due child support, the HHS’s Office of Child Support Enforcement said in its most recent report.

More than 50 percent of those with past-due payments owe less than $10,000 and account for less than 10 percent of the total outstanding debt, HHS said. Another 15 percent owe more than $40,000, accounting for 55 percent of the outstanding debt.

The most egregious deadbeat parents represent a small percent of the population. Parents who owe between $40,000 and $100,000 account for 35 percent of the total debt, but make up only 12 percent of the population. And those who owe more than 22 percent of the total debt make up only 3 percent of the population.

Others on the most wanted deadbeats list and the approximate amount of child support they owe are:

Christopher Carroll, 50, indicted in Providence, Rhode Island, federal court in 2015; approximately $250,000 owed;

Charles Hefner, 56, indicted in 2000 in the Southern District of Georgia; approximately $213,699 owed; possibly in Sorocaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil;

Gunther Bogensperger, 65, warrant or indictment issued in Connecticut in 2005; approximately $118,000 owed; possibly in Canada;

James Austin, 73, warrant or indictment issue in 2004; approximately $104,436 owed; possibly in North Carolina, Virginia or West Virginia;

Glenn Meinecke, 49, warrant or indictment issued in 2004 in Colorado; approximately $50,000 owed; possibly in Ontario, Canada;

John Spaid, 55, warrant or indictment issued in 2011 in federal court in South Dakota; approximately $48,000 owed; possibly in Washington state;

Alexander Vasola, 46, warrant or indictment issue in 2012 in South Dakota; approximately $21,200 owed; possibly in Canada; and

Theresa Fenerty, 42, indicted in 2014 in the Middle District of Pennsylvania; approximately $17,433 owed; possibly in Italy.

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