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Van Buren Co. man sought since ’98 for child support busted in Canada

Posted at 3:38 PM, Feb 21, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-21 15:38:44-05

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — A man wanted for nearly 20 years for failure to pay child support in southwestern Michigan has been arrested in Canada and returned to the U.S.

Joseph Stroup was known as Joop Cousteau in Alberta. The government says his overdue child support in Van Buren County now exceeds $500,000.

Stroup appeared in federal court in Chicago last Friday but will be transferred to Michigan. An indictment was filed in 1998 in federal court in Kalamazoo.

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 U.S. government website that listed “wanted deadbeats.”