MAN TO GO TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR FAILURE TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT

A Treasure Valley man has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for failure to pay more than $150,000 in child support.

It was the second offense for Ricci Lee Shipman, 52, who earlier was prosecuted in California for the same offense. This time he was prosecuted federally because he and the child's mother, to whom the support is owed, now live in different states.

In sentencing Shipman, Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill said he wanted to send a message that support violations will be taken seriously in federal court. Judge Winmill also ordered Shipman to serve one year on supervised release following his incarceration, and to pay a total of $154,950 in outstanding child support obligations.

Shipman is the father of 19-year-old twins who live in eastern California. In a plea agreement filed with the court, Shipman admitted that he was aware of his obligation to pay child support for the twins, and that he has and has had the ability to work and make payments.

Shipman has been employed as a roofer by various companies in the Treasure Valley, and is a partner in a jewelry business, CR Designs. He made sporadic payments between 1993 and 2002, but has not made a payment in the last five years.

The case was investigated in the Eastern District of California, by the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General.