Celebrity Chef Arrested for Back Child Support

On Behalf of | Jan 14, 2011 | Firm News

The London based celebrity chef, Bjorn van der Horst, was recently arrested at Kennedy Airport in New York for being thousands of dollars behind on child support payments to his 16-year-old son who lives in Brooklyn. The 39-year-old celebrity chef owes $93,000 in child support and according to the lawyer for his ex-wife and son, “He just never paid anything that he was supposed to pay.” The arrest occurred on Wednesday night as Bjorn van der Horst was about to board a plane headed to London.

After sheriffs arrested the celebrity chef on Wednesday night, he appeared at a Brooklyn Family Court on Thursday. The judge ordered Bjorn van der Horst to immediately pay $57,000 and to surrender his passport. Van der Horst is scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday and will spend time in the Manhattan Detention Complex also known as “The Tombs” until then.

The celebrity chef was supposed to be paying $2,950 a month in child support payments but has paid less than $800 in three payments over the last year. Van der Horst had also made two payments of $1,500 in previous years. The celebrity chef purportedly makes around $15,000 per week and operates a high-end restaurant in London called the Eastside Inn.

The celebrity chef is known to do work for a United Kingdom based charity that gives free soccer balls to children in Africa. The attorney representing Van der Horst’s ex-wife and son said his charity work is noble but he should not overlook the need of his own family. Authorities had gotten word that Van der Horst would be in New York for the holidays. A New York City official said individuals who owe and are in the jurisdiction are better off finding the authorities than letting the authorities come to you.

Source: New York Post, “Celeb Chef in Hot Water,” Sally Goldenberg, 1/14/11

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