Lousy play on child support
HE ROLLS WITH LeBron James and Victor Cruz, but you won’t see former Nike exec Paul Rivera pushing a stroller.
The high-flying Rivera, whose Roll With the Winners sports marketing company is frequently touted by stars including James, is more than $60,000 behind in child-support payments, according to court documents obtained by Confidenti@l.
That would sound like a drop in the bucket for the 42-year-old hoops fanatic, who played pro basketball in Puerto Rico before landing a plumb job as brand manager for Nike Basketball in New York.
Now, Rivera’s baby mama, Christina L. Jones, is putting the full-court press on her ex. She claims he still owes $61,000 in child support dating back to 2012 for his 6-year-old son.
In March, New York State Family Court found that Rivera had failed to make the required payments and entered a judgment against him for $49,800, the amount it found he owed at that time.
Rivera claims he never got the message. Since then the sum has skyrocketed.
In 2013, according to court records, the court garnished $9,000 of money he was paid by Beats Electronics, which produces the popular Beats By Dre headphones. Just last April, the court took another $750 worth of Rivera’s wages, the records show.
Rivera’s lawyer, Mark Helweil, claims those actions resulted from child-support hearings that he missed because court summonses never reached his hands.
Rivera is a front-row fixture when LeBron plays, both home and away. He lauded the superstar for donating big bucks to kids’ charities. On Friday, Rivera posted a photo from backstage at an event in Ohio where James had just announced plans to provide 1,100 scholarships for area kids.
“Today you gave a community & its youth the most important thing you could ever give them. Hope & help,” Rivera wrote on Instagram.
Rivera’s lawyer says his client has every intention of playing by the rules and says the ball is in Jones’ court. “If Mr. Rivera is ultimately determined to be the father, he’ll begin to pay child support,” says Helweil, who contends that paternity isn’t an issue as much as properly filed paperwork. “At this point he’s had no knowledge of any court process ... he was never properly served.”