'Hard-up' dad who owned Ferrari avoided paying child maintenance

A DIVORCED father who claimed he could not afford to pay child maintenance to his ex-wife was driving around in a Ferrari, staying in five-star hotels for thousands of euros a night and spending four-figure sums on dining in top restaurants.

While his wife bore the full costs of caring for their two children, the accused – who has not been named – carried on living in his 600-square-metre villa in Vigo (Pontevedra province, Galicia).

He had stopped paying child maintenance, which had been agreed at €4,000 a month per child, claiming the various companies he owned were struggling and on the brink of closure, and that he himself was heading for bankruptcy.

But the lady judge handling the case viewed evidence that the 'hard-pressed' father was living the high life.

In addition to his Ferrari and spacious villa, this included group meals out at top seafood restaurants with typical bills of €4,000, and hotel stays costing him €5,000.

He is also a member of one of Vigo's most exclusive yacht clubs, where the annual subscription is believed to run into five figures.

The judge decided that on this basis, he could genuinely have been paying for his children's upkeep and his pleas of near-poverty were unfounded.

As well as being ordered to resume the €4,000-a-month payments to each child, the accused is now obliged to pay his ex-wife maintenance of €50,000 a year and has been hit with a fine of €2,000 for neglecting his duties to his family.

The photograph, by Robb Report, shows one of the world's most expensive Ferraris, which is similar to the type owned by the 'struggling' Vigo father.