For bail bondsmen and bounty hunters everywhere, Duane “Dog” Chapman is certainly a controversial figure. Dog the bounty hunter, for better or worse, is generally considered to be the most famous bounty hunter in the business today. Thanks to the success of his popular reality show, featuring Chapman and his wife Beth, Dog has inspired many to join the industry, even while occasionally earning the ire of his fellow bail bondsmen.
More than just a television personality, Chapman still actively pursues criminals. He even recently took part in the manhunt for the two escaped prisoners from the Clinton Correctional Facility in New York. The two prisoners were placed on the 15 Most Wanted List by U.S. Marshalls, upping the attention and reward for professionals like Chapman. The increased pressure from bounty hunters certainly contributed to the eventual capture of the prisoners and their incarceration.
However, this week, Dog the Bounty Hunter came under serious fire when fellow bounty hunter Charles Fisher hit The Dog and his wife with a $30 million lawsuit. According to Fisher, his reputation as a professional was ruined after he was featured on the show.
Whether through clever tv editing or not, Fisher appeared to be a completely corrupt Bondsman on the show. On camera, it appears that Fisher made off with $20,000 paid in collateral by Dog for access to phone lines that might have led to the capture of a fugitive. The show also implied that Fisher was using jail connections to improve his business and that Fisher was not paying his insurance company.
Fisher claims that his business has been, “drying up” as a result of his portrayal on the show, and believes that $30 million in restitution would be enough to cover the damages. While there has been no comment as of yet from Chapman on the case, the potentially serious charge could be damaging both to Chapman’s television personality and his business.