Federal Prosecution
The Child Support Recovery Act of 1992 makes it a Federal crime to willfully fail to pay a past-due child support obligation for a child living in another state. Under the felony provision of the Act, the past-due obligation must be at least $10,000 or must have remained unpaid for more than 2 years. Under the misdemeanor provision of the Act, the past–due child support obligation must be greater than $5000 or must have remained unpaid for more than 1 year. The penalty for failure to pay support for a child living in another state is punishable by up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine. Second and subsequent violations are punishable by two years imprisonment and/or a fine.
The U.S. Attorney’s office will not accept a referral for cases with a past-due obligation that only meets the minimum qualifications. Because only a few cases are accepted each year, only cases that have a past-due obligation of at least $20,000 and have remained unpaid for more than 2 years are referred.
If you wish to discuss Federal prosecution, please call 1-800-356-9868.