The Catfishing Scandal That Sullied Chris 'Birdman' Andersen's Reputation
Chris "Birdman" Andersen had a memorable 15-year career in the NBA involving secrets that eventually came to light. In 2006, he was suspended by the league for violating their substance abuse policy but was able to find his way back onto a roster and thrive with the Denver Nuggets after serving his suspension, per ESPN. His time with the Nuggets came to an embarrassing end in 2012 when the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force searched his home. "I believe in Chris. I would ask the citizens of Colorado to give Chris his due," Andersen's lawyer, Mark Bryant, told The Denver Post at the time. By 2013, Andersen was cleared of all charges as the bizarre details of the case unfolded. "I can't tell you how much Chris agonized over the label placed on him," Bryant told Sports Illustrated after his client's name was cleared.
The charges stemmed from the NBA player's relationship with Instagram model Paris Dylan, whose real name Paris Dunn. When she started communicating with Andersen, Dunn was 17 years old — which is a legal age of consent in Colorado — but told him she was 21 years old. The issue of Dunn's age was not what made the case so confounding.
As their online relationship heated up, Dunn and Andersen sent each other nude selfies. "I trusted that it was him, and I knew he wouldn't do anything because of his position," she told ABC News in 2017. Little had Dunn known, both she and Andersen were celebs who had become victims of catfishing.
Chris Andersen and Paris Dunn were both duped
Although Paris Dunn did have an intimate relationship with Chris Andersen, their online meeting was orchestrated by Shelly Chartier, a 29-year-old woman from Manitoba, Canada. Chartier hacked the NBA big man's online accounts and gained access to his email, social media outlets, his phone, bank records, and even his video game console, per Sports Illustrated. Eventually, Dunn received threatening messages from Chartier, who posed not only as Andersen but as a friend of his named Tom Taylor — who did not actually exist. Over time, authorities on both sides of the border were able to track the messages back to Chartier, who had targeted others besides Andersen.
At one point, Chartier arranged an in-person meeting between the Denver Nuggets player and Dunn in Colorado, most of which was under the guise of Andersen's fabricated friend. This led to multiple awkward exchanges between the athlete and the teenager. "And then he was like, 'When is your trip to Africa?' I was like, 'I'm not going on any trip. What are you talking about?'" Dunn recalled to ABC News in 2017.
After meeting Andersen in person, Dunn started receiving menacing messages from Chartier posing as Taylor. "He said that he was going to send somebody down there ... he was going to have me raped, and murdered, and thrown on the side of the street," Dunn told ABC News. That caused Dunn to contact the police, which led to Chartier being revealed as the catfishing culprit.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Shelly Chartier eventually revealed why she targeted Paris Dunn and Chris Andersen
Once authorities were able to pinpoint Shelly Chartier's involvement in the catfishing scandal, she was arrested, but charges were not officially filed right away. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police took their time ensuring the case was airtight as they unraveled the intricate scheme Chartier had created involving Chris Andersen and Paris Dunn. The RCMP eventually brought Andersen in, along with his lawyer, Mark Bryant, to present the facts of the case. But the former Miami Heat center was flummoxed. "What the heck is going on here?" Andersen said after his meeting with the Canadian authorities in 2013, per the National Post.
In the end, Chartier was sentenced to 12 months in prison for the debacle. Oddly enough, Chartier's life took a turn for the better after she was arrested. "I went through a period where I didn't leave my house for 11 years," the Manitoba woman recalled to "20/20" in 2017 after serving her sentence, via ABC News. According to Chartier, she had become a recluse after dropping out of school in sixth grade and took to the internet to find connections with others. One of those connections was with Rob Marku, a man she met online and married almost immediately after meeting in person. The two formed a romance during Chartier's legal issues with the catfishing case.
After her release from prison, Chartier explained why she targeted Andersen and Dunn.
The catfishing scheme was featured in a documentary
The outlandish catfishing scandal caught the attention of a Canadian documentary filmmaker, Lisa Jackson, who decided to make Shelly Chartier the subject of a film titled "Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier." Jackson's documentary focused less on the crimes, but on what drove Chartier. "She just seemed like this evil, one-dimensional master manipulator," Jackson said on CBC's "The Current" in 2017. "I knew Shelly was an incredibly intelligent, unique, fascinating person who had not been given her say in the media." Even though it took her victims and authorities awhile to untangle the web of lies created, Chartier said there was no grand scheme. "People make it seem like I had this whole Dexter's laboratory thing going on. But it wasn't like that," she told CBC in 2017. Chartier said she was simply filling time. "I had nothing better to do, and I wanted to see how far I could go. That's the truth."
Meanwhile, Paris Dunn was upset to see Chartier released from prison. "I think she is gonna do it again ... Now that she's out of jail, I'm really scared," Dunn said while appearing on an episode of MTV's "Catfish" in 2017, via Us Weekly. "She tore up our lives."
With the catfishing controversy in the rearview mirror, Chris Andersen returned to the NBA. He signed with the Miami Heat in 2013, per Sports Illustrated, and stayed in the league until 2017.