Four are arrested in child-support sting

A nationwide hunt for deadbeat parents has netted four men who owe child support in Washington state, including one man who authorities say has skipped out on $116,000 in payments for his disabled son.

The parents represent some of the worst cases of non-payment in the country, said Katherine Harris, spokeswoman for the Inspector General's Office of the Department of Heath and Human Services in Washington, D.C.

That office led the search for delinquent parents whom state investigators were unable to locate.

"Some (of the parents) go back and forth from state to state, some work under the table. They will take many steps to avoid child support payments," Harris said.

The four men with Washington ties owe more than $384,000 in child support, according to the department. All four were arrested last week, along with 40 other parents who owe child support in 20 other states.

The 44 people arrested have a collective debt of more than $2.3 million in back child support. They face maximum sentences of up to two years in prison plus full restitution of the unpaid money if they are convicted. Some could also face felony charges.

All of the people arrested with connection to Washington state were men. Steven Knowlton, a real estate appraiser living in Hesperia, Calif., owes nearly $116,000 to his 18-year-old child who requires constant care for a traumatic brain injury.

Also arrested was J. Thomas Epperson, 57, an accountant and instructor at Auburn University's College of Business in Alabama. He was found in Columbus, Ga., and owes $68,800 for his three children.

Richard LaBato, 46, a baker living in Denver, owes $132,850 for his five children who live in Washington. He worked in both Texas and Colorado, according to Health and Human Services.

Daniel Phillips, 51, an attorney arrested in Kansas, also has moved repeatedly and last made a payment in 1996 to support his one child, Harris said. He owes $67,000.

The department did not release the names or hometowns of the children owed support.

In addition to last week's arrests, department investigators have warrants and summonses for 38 other delinquent parents.

Harris declined to say where those remaining parents owed support, but added, "I would get nervous if I knew I was breaking a child support order in the state of Washington."

State officials forwarded the four men's cases to the federal department after investigators here exhausted all their tools for locating them.

"When you get to the point of doing roundups by federal authorities, it means it's at the end of the line," said Adolfo Capestany, spokesman for the Division of Child Support of the Washington's Department of Social and Health Services.

The federal agency becomes involved when deadbeat parents cross state lines and when payments are delinquent for more than one year or parents owe more than $5,000 per child. The parents also have to be aware they owe child support and have the ability to make payments.

Federal investigators used databases with Social Security information, driver's license records, employment forms and some tax documents to find the parents, Harris said.

Often, parents will use fraudulent documents or work under the table to avoid detection, she said. The crackdown was the second such nationwide effort in as many years. Certain regions have been targets in the past and the department will likely conduct another wide-scale sweep next year, Harris said.

P-I reporter Wyatt Buchanan can be reached at 206-448-8011 or wyattbuchanan@seattlepi.com

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