Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel last Friday announced the collection of $40,000 owed in back child support for a Genesee County family, bringing the total past-due child support payments collected by the office this year to more than $13.5 million. The announcement came during the first week of National Child Support Awareness Month.
Scott Anthony Lindsay, 44, of Bristol, Indiana (formerly of Flint), was charged in January with Felony Failure to Pay Child Support by Nessel's Child Support Unit. As of December 2018, Lindsay owed more than $85,000 in back child support.
"Our office has an obligation to take action on behalf of Michigan's children when a parent fails to meet their parental responsibilities," Nessel said. "I am incredibly proud of our Child Support Unit and everyone who has contributed to this work to ensure the kids we fight for are properly supported."
Instead of being paid over an extended period, Lindsay's ex-wife agreed to a lump-sum payment of $40,000 and discharged the remaining support payments that went back 15 years. As part of the agreement, their daughter made a victim impact statement about how Lindsay's failure to properly support her and her brother had impacted them.
"After all of this, you deserve to hear the impact you have had after avoiding your responsibilities as a father," Lindsay's 23-year-old daughter started her statement. "My relationship with you has been so toxic. You told me I wasn't worth anything, that I don't deserve anything I have worked for, and that getting into the college of my dreams isn't even a big deal.
"I hope that after listening to this, you realize that your actions affect more people than just you and what an amazing person you have missed out on watching grow," she added. "It has taken me awhile but I am proud of where I am and who I have become, and I hope you realize that you had no part in that, and maybe one day you will look back and regret that."
The Michigan Attorney General's Office acts on behalf of Michigan families to secure back child support when the noncustodial parent lives outside the state or when cases are referred to it from Friend of the Court. Custodial parents who have experienced a history of non-payment and are owed significant back child support can file a complaint online with the Attorney General's Office or call 517-335-7560.
Published: Mon, Aug 05, 2019
