Former fugitive deadbeat sentenced, ordered to pay $534K in restitution

GRAND RAPIDS (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 last 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.

Published: Thu, Aug 30, 2018