CONCORD - Richard E. Goulet, Jr., 51, of Ocala, Florida, was sentenced to five years of probation for failing to pay child support, Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in December of 2007, a decree of divorce was issued in the Portsmouth Family Division Court ordering Goulet to pay support in a specified amount for his three children, all of whom are residents of New Hampshire.
Since the date of the decree in 2007, the defendant failed to pay child support as ordered by the court. He owed over $100,000.00 in unpaid support at the time of his arrest. Prior to sentencing, he paid over $107,000 of past-owed child support to bring his obligations current. His sentence also includes a mandatory condition requiring him to keep his monthly support obligations current.
Goulet previously pleaded guilty on Oct. 23, 2019.
“Out-of-state parents who fail to meet their child support obligations are committing a federal crime," said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “Unfortunately, it took a federal prosecution to make this defendant finally pay over $100,000 in child support. This case should send a serious message to deadbeat parents that failing to pay court-ordered child support can result in serious consequences, including a federal felony conviction."
“Failing to pay court-ordered child support is a federal crime," said Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “We appreciate our partnership with the New Hampshire United States Attorney’s Office in the investigation and prosecution of such cases."
This matter was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Rombeau and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen Fitzgibbon.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
