Mom Collects Record Child-Support Check

A Huntington Beach woman and her 7-year-old daughter received $109,144 in back child and spousal support this week, the largest single collection ever by the Orange County district attorney’s office.

The figure represents three years of payments for Yana Kennedy and her daughter, District Atty. Mike Capizzi said Thursday.

The district attorney’s office suspended the professional license of the girl’s father and placed a lien on a home in Huntington Beach he wanted to refinance, Capizzi said. The money he gleaned from the refinancing went to fulfill his obligation, he said.

“It’s very, very satisfying to collect, especially this amount. But any amount is important,” Capizzi said. “This individual is someone who had a substantial earning capacity but was doing everything to frustrate collection of support for his minor child.”

Prosecutors declined to release the father’s name, saying the stigma might harm his future ability to pay. The man’s attorney, William Murphy Swain of Orange, said $56,000 of the total amount was child support. He added that the payment came after the man took the district attorney’s office to court--he wanted to settle the dispute when it said he actually owed $197,000.