Man wanted for decades for child support pleads guilty

GRAND RAPIDS (AP) — A man who was wanted for nearly 20 years for failure to pay child support in southwestern Michigan has pleaded guilty in his case.

Joseph Stroup was known as Joop Cousteau before his arrest earlier this year in Canada. The government says his overdue child support in Van Buren County exceeded $500,000.
The Kalamazoo Gazette reports he entered the plea Monday in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids.

Stroup faces up to two years in prison and restitution when sentenced.

Stroup, now 64 years old, was ordered to pay child support during a 1989 divorce. Investigators say he fled, despite selling an internet business for more than $2 million.

Stroup was tripped up by a restaurant owner who found his picture on a website that listed “wanted deadbeats.”