To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen was arrested and charged on Monday, January 14, after being accused of issuing bad checks, the Stamford Police Department in Connecticut confirms to Us Weekly.
According to police, the 59-year-old asked Promotional Sales Limited owner Peter Psichopaidas for 355 ceramic mugs, 288 T-shirts and 650 vinyl decals to use at marketing events. Psichopaidas said the merchandise was delivered in 2017, but Hansen failed to pay the bill of $12,998.05.
An arrest affidavit obtained by The Advocate claimed that the store received a check for the entire amount, but it bounced. Hansen apologized to Psichopaidas and attempted to make a partial payment. By April 2018, the store owner still had not received the money so he filed a complaint with police. An investigator reportedly called Hansen, but the TV host never showed up at the police station. The newspaper reported that Hansen later promised Psichopaidas that his wife would drop off a check, but she never came either.
Investigator Sean Coughlin said in the affidavit: “I told Chris that I understood that he may have trouble, but that nearly $13,000 is a lot of money to a ‘mom-and-pop’ business and it is not fair that he accepted the material but hasn’t paid for it.”
Psichopaidas received a personal check from Hansen for $13,200 later that April, but it bounced three days after, according to The Advocate. The business owner then fired off an email to Hansen that read: “Peter … I truly thought I had this covered. 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.”
Hansen never sent another check. He turned himself in to police on Monday and was charged with issuing a bad check. He was released without bond after signing a written promise to appear in court.
The journalist hosted To Catch a Predator on MSNBC from 2004 to 2007. He later hosted Investigation Discovery’s Killer Instinct and the syndicated show Crime Watch Daily.
