Tuesday March 28, 2017
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A former Augusta businessman could soon be behind bars after failing to pay child support back to his ex-wife.
According to the US Bankruptcy Court, 69-year-old J. Timothy Shelnut and his ex-wife Virginia “Sam” Pannill have a “long and contentious history of divorce proceedings” in the Superior Court.
Court documents state that Shelnut has filed for multiple bankruptcies since 2008. Bankruptcy Court Judge Susan Barrett, in a 25-page order, claimed that although Shelnut claimed he had no money to pay his ex-wife, Shelnut refrained from paying her ex-wife and instead built custom plantation shutters bought his home and eventually bought a $675,000 townhouse on Wilmington Island, Georgia.
The order also stated that Shelnut admitted to keeping several pieces of furniture that were to go to Pannill as part of the divorce settlement.
In a second contempt order, the Supreme Court awarded his wife $375,086.59. The court ordered Shelnut to pay the amount by December 8, 2016, or report for detention a day later.
According to court documents, an arrest warrant was issued on January 11, 2017. On January 24, Shelnut filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. United States Chief Bankruptcy Judge Susan D. Barrett says Shelnut “attempted to overturn the Superior Court’s orders, to no avail.”
Barrett continues, “His (Shelnut’s) behavior in terms of fulfilling his divorce obligations was outrageous.”
After a hearing on February 17, the court lifted the automatic stay on Shelnut’s Chapter 11 petition.
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