A former New York banker, who claimed he was so strapped for cash he could not afford to pay child support, got an earful from a judge this week when it was revealed he had been traveling to Switzerland and Monaco.
Ian Phillips, 63, appeared in matrimonial court in Manhattan Wednesday, only to face the wrath of Judge Matthew Cooper who called him out for failing to pony up the agreed upon $1,000 a week towards the care of his two children, yet going on ski trips and European retreats.
‘So you don’t have any money for your kids but you live the life of Mr. Skier in the Swiss Alps?' Judge Cooper told Phillips in a mocking tone, presenting him a full-page photo of the man on the slopes.
Ian Phillips (left), 63, has been chided by a Manhattan judge for failing to pay $1,000 a week towards the care of his two children, yet going on a ski trip and a retreat in Monaco
The damning image snapped during Mr Philip's European getaway had come from the lawyer of his ex-wife, high-powered elite real estate broker Lisa Simonsen.
Philips, the London School of Economics-educated former financier, has claimed insolvency saying he cannot afford to pay for his children's upkeep because he has had no income for the past three years while building a new start-up company, reported the New York Post.
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Share 60 sharesJudge Cooper, however, was less than sympathetic to Phillip's supposed money woes and pressed him on why the 63-year-old divorcee had failed to secure a 'real job' instead of 'gallivanting' around Europe.
‘If I were you, I’d be working at a fast-food joint so I could help support my kids,’ the judge said,
The New Zealand native made an attempt to defend himself, saying 'it's not easy.' He also insisted that the damaging skiing photo was taken during a work conference held in Switzerland.
But the judge was having none of it.
'I only wish I was suffering that way, spending time in Monaco, the richest city in the world,' Cooper noted sarcastically.
Power couple: Phillips’ former spouse and the mother of his children, 47-year-old Lisa Simonsen (right), works as a broker at Douglas Elliman, which handles the sale of high-end properties
Phillips said in court that to do his bit as a parent – having failed to pay child support – he has been driving his children to their afterschool activities.
Ian Phillips is the president of the Swiss-based company NNP Ag, which manufactures a sugar cane electrolyte base that can be added to soft drinks, food and dairy products.
According to a recent press release, the extract promises ‘to address the global epidemics of type 2 diabetes and obesity by helping to significantly reduce calories without impacting taste.’
Phillips’ former spouse and the mother of his children, 47-year-old Lisa Simonsen, is a broker at Douglas Elliman, which handles the sale of high-end properties.
Mrs Simonsen filed for divorce from Phillips in 2011. That same year, she made headlines by arranging the sale of a 6,000-square-foot Plaza Hotel condominium for record-breaking $48million.
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