A criminal case against "To Catch a Predator" host Chris Hansen for allegedly issuing bad checks was dropped this week in a Connecticut court, a court official said.
The case against Hansen, 59, was "nolled" or dropped, on Wednesday, a clerk at the Superior Court in Stamford said. In 13 months, it will be dismissed.
"This was an oversight. Chris has a really good reputation in this community; he's been here a long time," Hansen's attorney, Philip Russell of Greenwich, said in a phone interview Friday. Russell said this week that Hansen made complete restitution in the matter, the Associated Press reported.
"As a practical matter, this case is in the dead letter office as of today," Russell said. "It won't be revived."
Hansen turned himself in to Stamford police on Jan. 14 after a warrant was issued for his arrest for a felony charge of issuing a bad check, police had said.
In the summer 2017, Hansen bought about $13,000 worth of promotional items, like hats, shirts and mugs from a local company, and paid for them with a check that bounced, Stamford police Sgt. Sean Scanlan said last week.
The Stamford Advocate reported this week that Hansen said after the brief hearing Wednesday, "It has been resolved and I’m happy to get back to work."
In the check case, the owner of the local business and Hansen "go back and forth for a period of time," and in April of 2018, Hansen gave the business owner another check and that one bounced, too, Scanlan said last week.
"It's just an unfortunate bump," Russell, the attorney, said Friday. "Life is complicated for everybody and this was just his bump."
Hansen hosted NBC's "Dateline" series "To Catch a Predator" until it was canceled in 2008. He also hosted spinoffs "To Catch an I.D. Thief" and "To Catch a Con Man."
