Reality shows do a great job of amplifying drama and controversy in order to reel in viewers and generate buzz. But the stars of A&E’s “Dog the Bounty Hunter” are finding that life away from the cameras may be just as dramatic.

Beth Chapman, wife of Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman, has sued a former Oklahoma bondsman whom she says defamed her through a coordinated “rampage of character attacks” on social media.

Chapman is seeking general and punitive damages each in excess of $75,000 from Lionel “Lenny” Biggers, described in the petition as an “unsuccessful bounty hunter who recently closed his business, Renegade Fugitive Recovery and Investigations Unlimited LLC.”

The suit was filed in Cherokee County, Oklahoma District Court.

Chapman and her husband rose to TV fame when the A&E network chose the couple for a reality television show in 2004, which featured camera crews following the bounty hunters as they pursued their clients who had failed to appear in court in Hawaii.

According to Tulsa County, Oklahoma court documents, a judge found that Biggers’ business was under suspension from the Oklahoma Secretary of State. Biggers had also announced he was shutting down Renegade Fugitive Recovery, but was going to work elsewhere, performing the same services, the court declared.

Chapman alleges Biggers has “sought to have a career and a presence similar to the Chapmans, such that he avails himself to be an ‘expert’ in bounty hunting to media sources.”

In her petition, Chapman also says the family was chosen because of their credibility – more than 8,000 fugitive captures, she says – and because of their experience “and heartfelt-desire to rehabilitate suspects.”

“He constantly seeks news stories for which he can be a part,” Chapman states in the petition. “Biggers publicly posts and publishes comments on his own Facebook, industry message boards and news stories, which are seen by many professional bail bondsman and bounty hunters in the industry.”

In her petition, Chapman acknowledges she is running to be the president of the Professional Bail Agents of the U.S., and she believes Biggers has targeted her campaign.

Chapman suggests Biggers is “maliciously seeking revenge” against her and her husband because Biggers believes they are at fault for his business’s failure.

“Biggers has maliciously published comments on social media meant to damage the reputation of the Chapmans. In just one month, Biggers executed a coordinated rampage of character attacks against the Chapmans through at least 14 social media posts,” Chapman’s petition claims. “These publications accused the Chapmans of committing crimes while bounty hunting, staging their show and calling Beth Chapman disgusting names. Biggers’ obsession went so far that he dressed up dogs to look like Beth Chapman and posted the images on Facebook.”

The petition says that Biggers, in April 2015, made a post that read, “Dog breaks the law and needs to be arrested.” In another posting, he allegedly said the Chapmans “break laws all over the U.S. [and] they think being a TV star gives them the right to break laws.”

“Biggers’ comments lack sincerity because it is Biggers, and not the Chapmans, that has actually been found guilty by a jury [in the State of Louisiana] of impersonating a police officer,” the petition states.

A report by a Tulsa TV station from 2013 suggests Biggers was convicted of a felony in 1996, but was later pardoned.

Chapman alleges Biggers’ comments have exposed her to “public hatred, contempt and ridicule” and have “been a source of great embarrassment and humiliation.” She argues that Biggers’ statements on social media have been “malicious and unwarranted.”

Aside from the libel claim Chapman makes against Biggers, she has also sued for “false light” and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Her petition was filed by Aaron Stiles of Downtown Legal Group in Norman, Oklahoma, and co-counsel Deanna Wales of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Biggers could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

Story first ran in The Tahlequah (Okla.) Daily Press