Attorney General Arrests Seven in Wayne County Child Support Sweep

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox joined with Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans today in announcing the arrest of seven Wayne County parents who together owe more than $320,000 in unpaid child support. Each parent faces a felony charge punishable by four years in prison.Children across Michigan are suffering at the hands of deadbeat paren

"Children across Michigan are suffering at the hands of deadbeat parents who have the means, but not the morality, to meet their financial responsibilities," Cox said. "These arrests in Wayne County send a message to parents across the state: Pay your children the support they deserve or pay for your crime with time in jail."

Agents from the Attorney General’s Office and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department executed the arrests on Thursday in cooperation with Wayne County Friend of the Court.

"Parents who owe child support and refuse to pay are in violation of the law and exact a very real cost on the children and families of Wayne County," Evans stated. "My office welcomes Attorney General Cox’s considerable efforts in helping us to bring relief to our children and hold non-custodial parents accountable for their debts."

Thursday’s arrests represent $327,875.41 in unpaid child support, which is part of the more than $7 billion in child support owed statewide. Eleven recipients stand to benefit from the unpaid sum. The parents who were arrested face a charge of felony non-support, a crime punishable by four years in prison.

The Attorney General’s child support division, which Cox created in April, 2003, has collected more than $4 million for Michigan’s children, nearly half of its $10 million goal.

Separately, Cox formed the PayKids Foundation, a nonprofit corporation funded by corporate sponsors, to help address the epidemic of unpaid child support in Michigan through a public awareness campaign. The PayKids initiative includes the placement of billboards across the state and the promotion of the PAYKIDS.COM Web site and 866-PAY-KIDS, a toll-free number to assist those children and custodial parents who need help.