The latest person Chris Hansen has turned over to the police is, of all people, himself.
The former To Catch a Predator host, who set up suspected child sex abusers to be busted by police on the series from 2004 to 2007, reportedly turned himself in to police for issuing bad checks and failing to make a payment of thousands of dollars to a vendor.
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Hansen, 59, of Shippan, Connecticut, was charged Monday with “issuing a bad check,” Stamford Police told Fox News. An arrest affidavit cited by The Greenwich Time shows that Hansen was arrested and charged with larceny.
He was released without bond and signed a PTA or a promise to appear in court, police said.
Hansen reportedly asked Peter Psichopaidas, the owner of Promotional Sales LTD, for mugs, decals and T-shirts for marketing events back in 2017, according to the Stamford Advocate. The products totaled $12,998.05, which the former MSNBC host agreed to pay in full before they were delivered.
An employee who worked for Hansen reportedly sent a check for the items three months after Hansen received invoices for the materials, and the check bounced. Hansen apparently apologized to Psichopaidas and said he would make a partial payment.
After Psichopaidas did not receive any payment, he filed a police complaint in April 2017.
Hansen then told investigator Sean Coughlin that he would make a statement at the Stamford police station, but he never did. He also said his wife would deliver a check, but an affidavit cited by the Stamford Advocate said she never did either.
A year later, Psichopaidas said he received a check from Hansen for $13,200 in April 2018 — but it bounced, too, according to the arrest affidavit. Hansen told Psichopaidas via email that he “sold a boat” to cover the payment.
“Peter … I truly thought I had this covered,” Hansen reportedly wrote. “I am scrambling to get it done. Please give me till the end of the day. I sold a boat to cover the rest of this and need to pick up the payment this afternoon.”
But Hansen reportedly never did write that check, and police said he wouldn’t speak to officers before an arrest warrant was issued.
To Catch a Predator used hidden cameras to investigate adults trying to meet children via the internet for sex. The series premiered in 2004 and ended in 2007. Hansen would comfort the suspects in the sting operations before the men were arrested by police.
A request for comment from Hansen’s representative from various news outlets was not immediately returned.
