Stevie J Avoids Jail: ‘LHHATL’ Star Agrees To Pay $1.3 Million In Child Support
Stevie J can finally breathe easy after dealing with the court for nearly three years over that pesky $1.3 million child support case. The Love and Hip Hop Atlanta star managed to avoid jail after agreeing to get caught up on child support payments for two of his kids with former girlfriend Carol Antoinette Bennett. News that Stevie was able to finally settle the court case came just days after learning that an NYC prosecutor was gunning to put the producer-turned-reality TV star in jail for up to six months, citing Stevie’s still-unpaid child support on top of a string of missed and failed drug tests.
Even though it was very clear that Stevie J doesn’t want to pony up $1.3 million, the Love and Hip Hop Atlanta star agreed to start paying off his child support debt. As long as Stevie continues to pay 25 percent of his income until the debt is paid in full, he’ll be able to avoid time in jail, according to Page Six.
Of course, Stevie J has a plan to continue avoiding making the hefty child support payments, and that may be the reason he even agreed to them in the first place. After agreeing with Judge Paul Crotty about paying off the child support, it has been learned that the LHHATL alum plans to appeal, further dragging out the child support case and the payments that go along with it. It’s unclear if he thinks he might actually win and get the child support issue dropped altogether, or if this is just a bit of posturing so that Stevie can take a breather before actually starting to pay off the insane amount of child support debt.
Stevie J’s child support debt reportedly dates back to 1999, when the Love and Hip Hop Atlanta star is accused of stopping his payments for two of his children. The case against him was opened in 2014, and Stevie has been battling with court dates, drug tests, and sobriety ever since.
The Child Support Recovery Act of 1992 is to blame for Stevie’s current situation. That legislation has been used to go after the Bad Boy producer and hold him responsible for allegedly skipping out on his obligation to financially support his children. The ongoing legal battle was the reason that Stevie J was sent to rehab and spent some time on house arrest in 2016.
It almost resulted in another jail stint for Stevie, which is probably why he decided to just agree to pay up and settle the case now. As the Inquisitr previously reported, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara was sick of Stevie J’s child support battle and the perceived disrespect of the legal system that he was showing by constantly dodging and failing drug tests. Bharara petitioned the judge to finally pull the rug out from under Stevie and just send him to jail for up to six months.
Although Stevie has hinted previously about possibly heading to jail over what felt like a never-ending child support battle, it turns out that he really doesn’t want that to happen. Right now, Stevie J is busy with his Leave It to Stevie VH1 spinoff show from Love and Hip Hop Atlanta, which made him a household name. Stevie has another show in the works with the same network. His newest show, which has not aired yet, is tentatively called Penthouse Pets and will feature Stevie and friends (including baby mama Mimi Faust) as they travel to multiple cities in search for women to grace the covers and the inside pages of Penthouse magazine.
Do you think Stevie J should go ahead and appeal the child support deal that he made in order to avoid jail or should the Love and Hip Hop Atlanta star just pay up? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
[Featured Image by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images]
