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Dog The Bounty Hunter Weighs In On Lawsuit By Late Wife’s Daughters Over Charity In Beth Chapman’s Name

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Here’s what we know about Chapman’s involvement in the ongoing controversy.

By Ariel Gordon
January 15, 2023 | 3:00 p.m. CST
Dog the Bounty Hunter (L) in leather jacket posing with Beth Chapman, who is wearing a white top against purple backdrop
Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Dog The Bounty Hunter has made a career of hunting down wrong-doers in front of a national audience. So, fans of the TV personality, legally known as Duane Chapman, may be surprised to find out he’s embroiled in a legal controversy of his own over his late wife’s estate. Here’s what we know about Chapman’s involvement in the ongoing controversy.

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Beth Chapman’s Daughters File A Lawsuit

When Beth Chapman died in 2019, her estate, led by her friend and co-star Rainy Robinson, established a memorial fund in her name. Now, TMZ reports, her daughters, Bonnie Chapman and Cecily Barmore have filed a lawsuit against Robinson.

According to Bonnie and Cecily, instead of using the charity to honor their late mother, Robinson has been pocketing the funds for herself.

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They also alleged she’s made false promises to transfer ownership to them and never actually intended to hand over the reins. In fact, Chapman’s daughters allege Robinson has been quietly working to dissolve the charity.

The suit references several social media posts where Robinson declared her intentions to turn over operations to Bonnie and Cecily. However, according to the suit, Robinson unexpectedly backed out after the women’s attorneys asked for a record of how she used the money.

Rainy Robinson And Dog The Bounty Hunter Respond

Instead of laying low, Robinson disputed Bonnie and Cecily’s claims directly to TMZ. According to Robinson, she’s been managing the memorial fund properly, even creating a scholarship and victim fund for the families of murder victims. She even claims that, contrary to their public claims, Bonnie and Cecily are the ones that distanced themselves from her.

Now that Bonnie and Cecily have allegedly declined to work with her personally, Robinson says she now plans to shut down the charity. In a surprising turn of events, Dog the Bounty Hunter has actually come to Robinson’s defense.

Duane Chapman, who is actually Bonnie’s biological father and Cecily’s former stepfather, claims Robinson hasn’t mismanaged his late wife’s memorial fund.

“This is a bogus claim. The memorial fund was approved by Beth’s estate, which I administrate. The lawsuit against the fund’s founder is nothing more than harassment,” the TV personality told TMZ.

At the moment, no public details have been able to shed much light on the situation. This is far from the first time that the Chapman clan has made headlines for intrafamily conflict. Since no one involved has had many reservations about speaking to the press, we’ll likely learn more in the coming months.

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