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State Lists top 500 Child Support Offenders

Posted: May 25th 2007 By: CMBurnham

An investigation revealed what a securities dealer, a pro wrestler and a country music star have in common.

All three are behind in their child support payments. It's hard to imagine any child having to do without because a parent doesn't pay child support, but not paying child support are what these three men are accused of.

The three are among the tops in the state among parents who are delinquent in their child support.

The I-Team asked the child support division of the Department of Human Services to create a list of middle Tennessee residents who owe the most in unpaid child support.

According to the department's list, there are 90 people on the list who owe more than $100,000.

No. 3 on the list is David Allan Coe who owes his ex-wife in Hendersonville $292,688.

Coe wrote or sang some of country music's biggest hits. He's still touring, but is way behind in his $4,000 per month in child support for his four children.

Coe's attorney said he wasn't able to contact Coe for an interview.

In court papers, Coe said that at the age of 67, he's not in as great a demand as he once was.

Although twice, he came up with big payments. The first time came when the state blocked his passport renewal, and the second payment happened after a judge sent him to jail.

In both cases, Coe came up with $10,000.

?All of a sudden money starts to appear. Sometimes it takes that threat for them to come up with the money,? said Child Support Commissioner Mike Adams.

Ricky Morton is a professional wrestler and Tennessean who went to jail for four months last year for not paying child support.

State records show he currently owes $64,900. He appealed to his fans to pay off the debt.

"His fans evidently weren't supporting him that much, because we haven't been able to collect but about $5,000 over the pretty long life of this case,? Adams said.

Morton declined a request for an interview.

The state has a number of tools to prompt people who owe child support to pay. Last year, the state suspended 8,000 driver?s licenses and confiscated $35 million in tax refunds.

But in other cases, the past-due amount continues to grow.

No. 1 on the list is a man who moved to Tennessee from New York. Brian DeCamp, according to DHS records, owes his ex-wife $350,500 for child support, alimony, interest and legal fees.

"I have given her millions of dollars in New York (and) a multi-million dollar home,? DeCamp said.

Court records show that DeCamp is supposed to pay $6,000 a month. He said he could afford the amount when he was in the securities business, but he said his business went bust, and now he's broke.

"She will get every penny from me that I owe her. It may take some time for me to do that, but I am doing the best that I can to make payments,? DeCamp said.

DeCamp said he asked a judge in New York three years ago to reduce his payments, but the judge said no and put him in jail for 90 days.

State officials said Tennessee is making progress in collecting back child support for families. They said collections have increased every year at least twice the rate of the national average.

"We wish we didn't have a list of cases where people owed (hundreds of thousands of dollars) and more, but we are collecting significantly more money each year for the children of Tennessee,? Adams said.

Child support is an important issue for everyone because some families who don't get the child support they're entitled to end up on welfare that?s supported by taxpayers.

The state's numbers show that the top 500 people who are behind in their child support owe their families a total of $40 million.