Father Charged With Kidnapping Faced Previous Lawsuits

Christopher Maffei, the man charged with kidnapping his own children from South San Francisco and stealing a yacht last week, has been brought to court several times before, according to San Mateo County Superior Court records.

In June 2009, a Mountain View-based real estate investing and staging company, successfully sued Maffei after "providing home staging for defendant's property." Earlier that year, the San Mateo Daily Journal successfully sued Maffei for not fulfilling payments in an advertising contract.

In October 2009, an oil company successfully sued Prosch & Maffei Builders for non-payment of fuel. In December of 2009, a company that provides rock for builders successfully sued Maffei.

In January 2010, a small loans corporation filed a lawsuit against Maffei for not paying installments for two Bobcat construction vehicles. That case was dismissed.

The current case against Maffei includes charges for stealing a yacht from a marina in Alameda.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday night that Maffei said that he'd "gone crazy by stealing the boat," but that the kids were safe.

"Maffei insisted in the 45-minute interview that his children were never in danger while on the boat, adding that they had a grand time," the article said. "'They were safe, they were warm,' [Maffei] said."

Maffei appeared in court for an arraignment on .

"My children have been put back in a place where they were abused," he said in the court room.

According to the Chronicle, "their mother, Jennifer Hipon, 37, has said such claims are unfounded and noted that Maffei never reported his allegations to authorities."

The saga began Sept. 4 when Maffei allegedly abducted his two children, ages 2 and 3, at about 3 p.m. from their home on the 100 block of James Court in South San Francisco and then drove in a rental car to Alameda where he allegedly stole a boat and set shore with the kids, police said.

The yacht was spotted about 50 miles off the coast from Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay early Friday by a commercial fisherman who notified the U.S. Coast Guard.

Coast Guard officials sent crews by air and by sea to find the yacht and eventually safe on board the vessel.

According to court records, Hipon filed a domestic violence restraining order against him last week. A hearing for that is Friday, Sept. 21.

Maffei is currently in custody in lieu of a $500,000 bail, and he is set to enter a plea on Monday. He faces eight felony counts.

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