Chris Hansen Lawsuit History: Conradt, Defamation, and Bad-Check Case

Chris Hansen’s lawsuits and legal troubles span more than a decade and fall into several distinct categories: a wrongful death suit brought by the family of a man who killed himself during a “To Catch a Predator” sting, a defamation and privacy suit from a man featured on the show, a Connecticut felony bad-check charge, a string of civil debt judgments including a home foreclosure, and a short-lived protection-order dispute with the YouTuber known as Onision.

The Conradt Wrongful Death Suit Against NBC

The most serious lawsuit tied to Hansen’s work grew out of a November 2006 sting in Murphy, Texas. Louis William Conradt Jr., a 56-year-old retired Kaufman County district attorney, shot himself at his Terrell, Texas home when police and a Dateline camera crew arrived at his door.¹

In July 2007, Conradt’s sister Patricia filed a $105 million wrongful death suit against NBC Universal in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleged that officers and the film crew arrived without a search or arrest warrant, that NBC had “steam-rolled” police into acting, and that after the shooting an officer told a Dateline producer, “That’ll make good TV.”¹²

On February 26, 2008, Judge Denny Chin denied NBC’s motion to dismiss the core claims. He wrote that a reasonable jury could find NBC had crossed the line “from responsible journalism to irresponsible and reckless intrusion into law enforcement,” and that the network had pushed for tactics that were “unnecessary and unwise,” including sending a heavily armed SWAT team against a non-violent subject, for the sake of dramatic footage. Quoting the Second Circuit in Ayeni v. Mottola, he wrote that “a private home is not a soundstage for law enforcement theatricals.”³⁴

The court allowed a Texas intentional infliction of emotional distress claim and a Fourth Amendment civil rights claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to proceed, treating NBC as a plausible state actor given its collaboration with police. A RICO claim was dismissed for failing to allege that NBC and the alleged enterprise were distinct.⁴

The case never reached trial. NBC settled in June 2008 on undisclosed terms, with a sealed document filed on June 3. Spokeswoman Jenny Tartikoff said the matter had been “amicably resolved to the satisfaction of both parties,” and neither NBC nor plaintiff’s counsel Bruce Baron disclosed the financial terms.²⁵

Tiwari’s Defamation Suit Against Hansen Personally

In 2011, Anurag Tiwari, a former Sun Microsystems engineer who had appeared on “To Catch a Predator,” sued both NBC and Hansen personally, claiming defamation, civil rights violations, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen dismissed the defamation count, ruling that the broadcast was a privileged media report and “substantially true” even though Tiwari had not been convicted of a felony. Claims for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress were allowed to move forward, with the judge finding that a jury would need to weigh whether the production’s conduct during the arrest and filming was necessary.⁶

The Connecticut Bad-Check Felony Charge

Hansen’s own criminal case began with a promotional-merchandise order. In the summer of 2017, he bought roughly $13,000 in marketing goods, 355 ceramic mugs, 288 T-shirts, and 650 vinyl decals, from Peter Psichopaidas of Promotional Sales Limited in Stamford, Connecticut. An initial check from Hansen News LLC bounced. In April 2018, Hansen wrote a personal check for $13,200 that also bounced three days later. He emailed the vendor the same day saying he was “scrambling” to cover the payment after selling a boat.⁷

He was charged with one Class D felony count of issuing a bad check and turned himself in to Stamford police on January 14, 2019. Nine days later, on January 23, the case was “nolled.” Under Connecticut procedure, that means the prosecutor drops the charge and it is automatically dismissed after 13 months if no new charges follow. His attorney, Philip Russell, confirmed that Hansen had made “complete restitution.”⁸

Civil Debt Actions and Foreclosure

The bad-check arrest drew attention to several civil claims filed against Hansen around the same period.

American Express filed a 2015 complaint alleging Hansen owed $57,931.72 on his Platinum card. As of early 2019, court records showed no resolution and no appearance or attorney listed for Hansen.⁹
In May 2018, Ally Financial sued Hansen for defaulting on a loan of more than $65,000 for a 2014 Corvette convertible after he stopped making the $1,162.08 monthly payments in November 2017. A judge later granted the company permission to repossess the car.¹⁰
A May 2018 court order noted that Hansen’s Stamford home was in strict foreclosure with outstanding debt above $1 million. The property was eventually taken over by a bank.¹¹

Separately, backers of Hansen’s 2015 “Hansen vs. Predator” Kickstarter, which raised nearly $89,000 from over 1,000 donors, accused him of failing to deliver promised perks such as signed photos, behind-the-scenes content, and early access to episodes. The project was later repurposed into segments for the syndicated show “Crime Watch Daily.”¹¹ These Kickstarter complaints did not result in a reported lawsuit.

The Onision Protection-Order Filings

In January 2020, YouTuber James Jackson, known as Onision, and his husband Kai Avaroe filed petitions for orders of protection against Hansen and YouTuber Daniel “Repzion” Sulzbach, alleging cyberstalking and harassment. The filings followed a January 9, 2020 visit by Hansen, a film crew, and attorney Mike Morse to Jackson’s Washington State home. Jackson called 911 and described Hansen as a “YouTube stalker.”¹²

Service went sideways. The legal papers reached a different Chris Hansen entirely, and that person contacted the court to correct the mistake. On January 24, 2020, Jackson appeared in Pierce County District Court and asked that his petitions be dismissed, and the judge granted the request. Hansen’s lawyer asked for a dismissal with prejudice and for court fees, and both requests were denied. Jackson told the court he intended to pursue “alternative, more effective legal action,” but no follow-up filing against Hansen has been publicly reported.¹³

1
Reuters. NBC Sued for $105 Million Over Man’s Death
2
The New York Times. NBC Settles With Family in To Catch a Predator Suicide Case
3
Courthouse News Service. Judge Lets Stand $100 Million Claim Against NBC for Prosecutor’s Suicide
4
Casemine. Conradt v. NBC Universal, Inc., 536 F.Supp.2d 380
5
Los Angeles Times. NBC Resolves Lawsuit Over To Catch a Predator Suicide
6
The Hollywood Reporter. To Catch a Predator Lawsuit: NBC to Defend
7
Stamford Advocate. To Catch a Predator Host Charged With Issuing a Bad Check
8
NBC News. Bad Check Case Involving Catch a Predator Host Chris Hansen Resolved
9
Stamford Advocate. To Catch a Predator Star Resolves Bounced Check Case
10
Daily Mail. Chris Hansen Bad Check Charges Dropped After He Pays Debt
11
New York Daily News. To Catch a Predator Star Chris Hansen’s Arrest Draws Out History of Financial Woes
12
Business Insider. Onision Drops Chris Hansen Lawsuit After Wrong Person Served Papers
13
Newsweek. Onision Sues Chris Hansen and Repzion in Civil Court Lawsuit