Paternity Fraud a Problem for some Military Men

April 20, 2004

Glenn Sacks, a specialist in men's issues, has covered men's topics-including troubles faced by men and fathers in the military-for about three years. He has featured victims of paternity fraud and custody battles on his radio talk show.

Sacks said when he began writing about men's issues, he was flooded with letters from fathers who said they had lost their children in their divorces and could only see them rarely, if at all. Consequently, Sacks' orientation evolved to focus more on fathers' issues. Sacks himself has never been through any of these issues.

"I had guys in the military and also veterans writing to me and saying 'look what's happening' and 'why is this.allowed to happen?'"  Sacks authenticates the stories he hears from fathers with court records.

In a situation of paternity fraud, overseas soldiers are "preyed upon by father-shoppers," Sacks said. If a military man is named the father of a child, the mother is guaranteed wage-garnishment for child support, medical care and other benefits. It is very difficult for the men to fight the paternity finding when they are 5,000 miles away, he said.

Taron James, formerly in the Navy, is one man who has been dealing with paternity fraud since the early 1990's. He founded an organization called Veterans, Military and Civilians Fighting Paternity Fraud in January 2003. The organization came out of necessity he said-he got tired of being called a deadbeat.

The organization now has 1000 members and is adding more every day. James said close to 500 members are victims (the others are supporters) and about 20 percent of the victims are veterans and another 20 percent are military members. James verifies members' allegations through court cases and documents.

James' personal paternity fraud situation began in 1992 with a woman who was his best friend. They had a fling and then James joined the military. Two months after he left for boot camp, the woman told him she was pregnant.

In October 1992, he was at sea for 30 days with his ship. The woman gave birth and, without his knowledge, she put James' name on the child's birth certificate. She wrote a letter to his command wanting child support. The legal officer of James' ship said they would like blood tests to be performed.

The tests were never performed and James could not find the woman after he left the military. In March 1996, his case went to court without his knowledge. To his surprise, in October 1996, he received a notice from the DMV that his license was being suspended because he was not paying child support.

He sued and, in 1998, went to court and lost. From 1996 to 1999, roughly $8,000 had been collected from James through wage-garnishment and withdrawals from his income tax returns and federal returns. To date, his total losses are $45,000.

James eventually found the woman in Arizona and they performed the DNA test, which showed zero probability of James' paternity. But a court found the DNA test was inadmissible.

To this day, James has not received any documents stating his case is closed and he is still recognized as the legal father, but he is not currently paying child support because the woman has again cut off contact.

After James' most recent court appearance, California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board Judge Michael Kurz wrote in his decision, "The evidence is overwhelming that the claimant is a victim of fraud instigated by the woman, and exasperated by the child support system."

James' organization, Veterans Against Paternity Fraud, is working with the National Coalition of Free Men and they hope to open a paternity justice center where men will be able to find reasonable or low-cost legal advice.

The Department of Defense (DoD) policy states if there is a decree of paternity or child support against a military member, the commanding officer will advise the member "of his moral and legal obligations as well as his legal rights in the matter." More specific help is offered at the individual service level.