[clevfan]

Poker player ordered to pay up
Man made six figures, but didn’t support son

By JACQUI SEIBEL
journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 12, 2008


Waukesha - A professional poker player from Las Vegas has to ante up for back child support or face time in prison.


Scott A. Obst, 40, has skipped out on his obligations to his son since 2005, owing $160,000, even though his income topped $400,000 annually, according to court records.

The case goes back to 1991, when Obst was ordered to pay child support in a paternity case for the son he fathered with a woman 17 years ago.

As part of an agreement reached Tuesday between the prosecutor, the defense attorney and boy’s mother, Obst will avoid prison time if he makes regular child support payments on back child support in arrears from the 1991 paternity case.

Obst pleaded no contest Tuesday to two misdemeanor counts and one felony count of failure to pay child support. One felony count of failure to pay child support was dismissed. Obst was charged with four felony counts but two of the counts were amended as part of the agreement.

“I just feel this is the best possible agreement,” said Bridget Boyle, Obst’s attorney.

Boyle said the best result for the boy and his mother would be if Obst still remained employed. A felony conviction would make it harder for him to get a job, she said.

Under the three-year agreement that has Obst paying about half of the back child support, Obst must pay $1,000 per month until his son turns 18 in May 2009, pay $10,000 by the time he is sentenced Dec. 19 for the two misdemeanors, pay $33,000 within three years, and pay $2,667 to Waukesha County Child Support Enforcement Office for extradition costs. During the time of the agreement, Obst must notify Waukesha authorities of any change of employment or address.

Also, $5,000 of the $25,000 bail Obst posted must go to the District Attorney’s office, which will give $3,000 to the mother and $2,000 to the county’s child support office. The remainder of the bail will go toward child support arrears once Obst is sentenced in December.

“I take responsibility for what I did,” Obst said in court.

“I really have tried to do the best I could and I will abide by this agreement,” he said.

Peter M. Wolff, attorney for the boy’s mother, asked that Obst also be required to report all sources of income, to which the parties agreed.

Wolff said after Tuesday’s hearing that it was necessary to close all loopholes in the agreement because Obst has a documented history of non-disclosure when it comes to his income.

In addition to poker earnings, Obst has earnings from work in adult film distribution, Wolff said.

Wolff said the boy’s mother is apprehensive, but accepts the agreement.

“I just hope it works,” she said in court.

In 2003, Obst went to the state Court of Appeals to challenge a lower court’s ruling that increased his child support from $1,500 a month to $4,000 a month.

But the appeals court refused to overturn the lower court’s decision. The appeals court’s decision notes that “until recently Scott had done everything to avoid financial responsibility under the judgment of paternity.”

That included not “fully and truthfully” disclosing his income to the mother and trial court, the appeals court said. Appeals court records indicate Obst’s income exceeded $425,000 a year.

Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Barbara A. Michaels said Obst owes $171,498 in back support — $160,000 to the woman and her son and the remainder to the state because the woman had received state aid.

A criminal complaint says Obst failed to make payments June 2005 through February 2006 and July 2006 through March 19, 2007.

Obst already served time in jail. He is allowed to leave Wisconsin but must return for his Dec. 19 sentencing.