Lawsuit Claims FBI Seized Child Support Payment Money

A man who once worked with the FBI on a bankruptcy fraud case is now suing the law enforcement agency for seizing money that was supposed to go toward child support payments. Michael O’Donnell provided federal agents with evidence that his ex-wife, Tara Kersch, was engaged in a criminal bankruptcy fraud scheme with her new husband. When FBI agents seized $150,000 in cash and jewelry from Ms. Kersch’s safe, Mr. O’Donnell claimed that the money was supposed to go toward the child support payments she owed him.

Bankruptcy Fraud Conviction Endangers Child Support Payments

The case of the seized child support payments started when Mr. O’Donnell and Ms. Kersch divorced in 2009. Ms. Kersch later married Steven Green, who was later convicted of defrauding the clients of his investment firm. When a Georgia divorce court ordered Ms. Kersch to make child support payments to help Mr. O’Donnell support the couple’s son, she filed for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy judge dismissed her case, claiming that she misrepresented her assets and lied about her income. Ms. Kersch pled guilty to bankruptcy fraud and was sentenced to 16 months in a federal prison. She is scheduled to be release in September 2015.

Ex-Husband Turns Informant For Child Support Payments

As federal prosecutors were building their case against Ms. Kersch, FBI agents contacted Mr. O’Donnell for help in obtaining evidence against her. Federal agents executed a search warrant against a Tennessee property in which Ms. Kersch was living. The search came up with $150,000 in cash and jewelry she had stored in a safe, for which Mr. O’Donnell provided the key. The prosecutors alleged that she hid the money in the safe to keep it out of the bankruptcy proceedings and to avoid making her required child support payments.

Child Support Payment Funds In Legal Limbo

According to the lawsuit Mr. O’Donnell filed to reclaim the overdue child support payments, officials with the FBI cited that he failed to file the proper forms to claim the funds. Mr O’Donnell’s attorney argued that the agency lacks a legitimate claim on the assets and “had reaped a windfall to Michael’s detriment.” Mr. O’Donnell told reporters that the agency is “taking money that is owed to my kid” and that he felt “like the system let me down.”

Source: Chicago Tribune

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