Jeffrey Nichols, the Nation's Number One Deadbeat Dad

Dad Went Fugitive for Five Years to Avoid Paying Child Support

According to the US Federal Office of Child Support Preliminary Statistics, over $107 Billion in unpaid child support is owed to 17 million children. The Child Support Recovery Act of 1992 (CSRA; 18 U.S.C. 228), called the Federal "Deadbeat Dads" statute, states that:

“a. Offense. Whoever willfully fails to pay a past due support obligation with respect to a child who resides in another State shall be punished as provided in subsection (b). 

b. Punishment. The punishment for an offense under this section is:

1. in the case of a first offense under this section, a find under this title, imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both; and

2. in any other case, a fine under this title, imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or both.”

One of the parents considered the most notorious of those who owe child support is Jeffrey Nichols, a former commodities and precious metals investment adviser, who lived in Charlotte, Vermont. Nichols had been married for 16 years to Marilyn Kane, owner of a Manhattan real estate firm. He became dissatisfied with the marriage and separated from his wife in 1989. In 1990, his wife was granted a divorce on grounds of abandonment. At the time of the divorce, Nichols was making $160,000 a year. In the same year of the divorce, Marilyn married David Kane, an insurance broker. Nichols married Suzan Jane Orris, an office worker, who died several years after their marriage.

The child support order for Nichols’ three children was $9,000 a month, $108,000 per year. He became delinquent on the payments and owed his ex-wife $642,550. During the time he was delinquent, Nichols was reportedly living in luxury with his new wife. To avoid paying the child support, Nichols became a fugitive. Nichols even denied being the father of the three children. During the five years following his divorce, Nichols, crossed three state lines, moving from New York to Ontario, Florida and Vermont, to avoid federal authorities who were attempting to serve him with court orders.