Anne Hathaway’s longtime boyfriend, Raffaelo Follieri, was arrested Thursday and charged with trying to pass a bad check, but it may all be a big misunderstanding, according to TMZ.com.

TMZ.com was first to report that Italian property developer Raffaelo Follieri, boyfriend for more than four years to actress Anne Hathaway, was arrested Thursday by NYPD and charged with trying to pass a bad check, worth $250,000.

The site later added, after obtaining new information, that Follieri went willingly with police officers in order to solve the mystery of the bad check. His lawyers are reportedly already handling the case and Follieri has been released from police custody.

Follieri, 29, has had some bad press before. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that billionaire Ron Burkle had filed a lawsuit against Follieri for allegedly “willfully and systematically misappropriating” $1.3 million in business funds to support his luxurious lifestyle. The Italian businessman denied wrongdoing.

Financial issues followed him into 2008, as Follieri was recently ordered by a Washington, D.C., court to pay a public relations firm $250,000 for work done on his behalf, per TMZ.

Follieri and 25-year-old Hathaway have been together for some four years now and the “Devil Wears Prada” star has nothing but praise for him. She has said that he has a positive influence on her and that he helped her escape a lengthy depression.

“He’s brought out so many positive attributes,” she told British paper The Sunday Times last year. “Before I met him, I wasted so much time. I was just annoying and narcissistic and smelled bad. He's protective without being possessive, passionate without needing to show his temper.”

Hathaway is currently working on “Bride Wars,” a romantic comedy in which she stars alongside Kate Hudson.

“Get Smart,” based on the 1960s comedy television show of the same name, hits theaters this summer. She stars alongside Steve Carrel.