Entertainment

TV journalist Chris Hansen accused of bouncing checks

16 of January 2019

This booking photograph released Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, by the Stamford, Conn., Police Department shows Chris Hansen, former host of the television program "To Catch a Predator," arrested Monday in his hometown of Stamford, on charges he he wrote bad checks for $13,000 worth of marketing materials. (Stamford Police Department via AP),This booking photograph released Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, by the Stamford, Conn., Police Department shows Chris Hansen, former host of the television program "To Catch a Predator," arrested Monday in his hometown of Stamford, on charges he he wrote bad checks for $13,000 worth of marketing materials. (Stamford Police Department via AP)

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — A TV journalist known for confronting would-be child predators has been snared himself in a police investigation alleging he wrote bad checks for $13,000 worth of marketing materials.

Former “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen was arrested Monday in his hometown of Stamford, Connecticut. He was charged with issuing a bad check and released on a promise to appear in court.

Police say the 59-year-old Hansen wrote two bad checks to a local vendor for 355 mugs, 288 T-shirts and 650 vinyl decals he bought in the summer of 2017.

Phone and email messages were left Wednesday for Hansen. It wasn’t clear if he has a lawyer who could respond to the allegations.

NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” ran from 2004 to 2007 and included sting operations for online child predators.