A Michigan man was so intent on evading child support payments, he enlisted a look-alike friend to help him try to cheat on a paternity test — and now, both of them men are facing criminal charges and serious prison time.
In a statement on the men’s arrests, Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said that Mark McCracken, 34, and Derek Harrison, 36, were both arraigned Thursday, December 18, after police accused them of taking deliberate steps to defraud a DNA paternity test.
The two men are alleged to have concocted a hairbrained plot to have Harrison step in for reluctant dad McCracken.
The alleged switcheroo happened back on September 12, when Harrison signed in at the Macomb County Administration Building claiming to be his friend McCracken. He then provided the court with the requested DNA sample, Lucido alleged in his statement.
By misrepresenting himself to court staff as McCracken, Harrison allegedly committed the crime of evidence tampering, which could see him land in a Michigan prison for up to four years,
It was unclear how authorities were able to unravel their shifty scheme.
Harrison, according to court records, was arraigned on December 1 while McCracken learned that he was in trouble on December 10. He, too, is charged with evidence tampering.
Lucido in his statement made a point of noting McCracken and Harrison each have “habitual offender fourth offense notices,” which means they could be facing a sentence of up to 15 years if they’re convicted at trial.
While “the allegations in this matter are truly outrageous,” Lucido said that the arrests prove that “Macomb County takes matters of child support extremely seriously, and this case will receive the full attention it warrants.”
At last check, Harrison and McCracken were being held at the Macomb County Jail.
Lucido could not be reached on Friday, December 19, for additional comment, and Luxury Handbag Shopping called several phone numbers associated with both McCracken and Harrison but couldn’t reach anyone for a statement on the allegations.
Court records that were provided to Luxury Handbag Shopping do confirm that McCracken has at least one other pending case in Macomb Circuit Court. The bashful dad is also charged with larceny-in-a-building charge stemming from an alleged November 2024 incident in the Michigan city of St. Clair Shores.
The paternity case against McCracken was filed by an unknown woman back in July. The case was actually dismissed by a judge on September 30 but was then reinstated, leading the court to order a brand-new test for McCracken. That decision came down only weeks ago, Luxury Handbag Shopping learned.
McCracken is scheduled to appear for a probable-cause conference on Monday, December 22. His friend Harrison will be in court next on January 6, 2026. Both cases will be heard by Judge Carrie Fuca in 41B District Court.
McCracken also appears to have an assault conviction on his record.
In 2016, an attorney for McCracken filed a negligence lawsuit sued workers at the Jackson Cotton Correctional Facility, claiming that while he was incarcerated there on January 5, 2014, another inmate raped him. Luxury Handbag Shopping was unable to determine if that lawsuit was still pending.
