From the The Patriot-News:
When Walter Andre Sharpe Jr. signed for a certified letter from Dauphin County Domestic Relations in 2001, he didn’t know he was signing on for a seven-year nightmare. Since then, the Philadelphia man has been thrown in jail four times, lost his job, become estranged from his four children and spent more than $12,000 to support the child of another man.
It finally stopped in May 2007 when a judge reversed a finding that he was the father. But the same judge has since ruled that Sharpe is not entitled to any compensation, not even the money he was forced to pay to support the child.
Sharpe’s attorney, Tabetha Tanner, said the county Domestic Relations office “stole” Sharpe’s identity by exchanging his date of birth, address and Social Security number for that of the father.
The agency fought Sharpe’s attempts to have DNA testing and said it determined he was the father “after reasonable investigation.”
Well, it certainly sucks to be Walter Sharpe. Not only did he have to pay $12,000 for a child that is not his, he wont be getting any of his money back. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of something like this happening. The courts almost never allow someone who paid child support to get their money back even when it has been determined that the child support was fraudulently taken.
Let this be a lesson that you should never sign for a certified letter. No good can come out of it.
