Gabriel Cornejo, of Cypress, Texas, a father-of-three who is also raising two of his brother's children, says he only found out his ex claimed he was the father of her 16-year-old girl, last year.
But even after a paternity test proved he wasn't the father, Cornejo is still being held liable for unpaid child support because a court says he did not contest the paternity suit when his former girlfriend first submitted it in 2003.
Cornejo, originally from Panama, insists he was never notified about his ex's claims at the time and is hoping to overturn the ruling when the case goes to court next month.
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His ex is still demanding that he pays what now totals $65,000 for the child, that is not his.
She first went to a Texas court in 2003 claiming Cornejo was the only possible father.
Her lawyer, Carel Stith, claims Corneo got a subpoena which he ignored, and some child support was taken from his paycheck long ago which he never fought it.
Cornejo claims he never received a subpoena and was not aware about the claim until last year.
But the court has taken his ex's side and unless he can convince another judge to change the order, he will face a bill of tens of thousands of dollars.
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'They say he should have fought back then and he failed to do so,' his lawyer Cheryl Coleman said. 'But how can you fight something you don't know anything about?'
If he fails to pay, he could land in jail.
'Don't stick your head in the sand,' the girl's mother's lawyer said. 'It won't go away and there can be consequences even if you don't do anything.'
Cornejo describes himself as the owner of GP Custom Works car shop in Texas, and appears to be a family on his Facebook page, sharing lots of pictures of himself with his kids and wife.
