I was searching online.. trying to find something about Geraldo being punked. I couldn't find anything but I did find a connection between Geraldo and Joey Skaggs.
Keep in mind this was back in 1991:
Geraldo Hoax
1991, New York, New York
When Geraldo's producers called Joey Skaggs to invite him on the show, Skaggs asked what the show was about and who else would be featured. Told it was about scam artists, con artists, and rip off artists -- people who exploit other people for money -- Skaggs declined, explaining that this was not what he did. He does not take money, and his purpose is completely different. The show went on without him but they discussed his work and showed numerous video clips of his hoaxes anyway.
A short time later, the producers called again, this time asking Skaggs to do a hoax specifically for them. They wanted to follow him around with cameras, and then reveal the hoax exclusively on Geraldo's show. Skaggs again declined, thinking that this was just self-aggrandizement for Geraldo.
The third time the producers called, they said they would like Skaggs to speak as a media critic. Skaggs didn't believe them, knowing the nature of these types of shows, but agreed to go on the show anyway. He had decided to hoax them.
His opportunity came when they asked him to provide a journalist who had been the victim of one of his hoaxes and who would be willing to go on national television to talk about it. Skaggs believed they were asking him to do their homework. And, he wondered what journalist would be willing to go on national television to be derided? Furthermore, he wondered if they would they have anything constructive to say about his work.
Instead, he created a fictitious scenario. He made up a story about New York's' hip, hidden real estate market. Artists were living illegally in converted water towers on the tops of buildings, with great commanding views, and cheap rent. He and writer friend Nancy Weber (who had performed with Skaggs previously), composed an article which he then mocked up to look like it had appeared in The New York Post Real Estate Section on Thursday, August 11, 1988.
Weber was willing to play the part of the duped Associated Press journalist who'd written the story. When called to the studio for the pre-interview, Skaggs, who had inserted the fake story into his press packet, conned the producers into wanting to focus on this hoax and have Weber, the fallen journalist, on the show. During the show, Geraldo introduced Weber and asked her how she felt about Skaggs. She called him a scoundrel but then reflected on the value of what he was doing and described the lesson she had learned from the experience. Her closing remarks were "If it's too good to be true, it usually is."
After the show aired, Skaggs notified the show and the media that Geraldo had been hoaxed. His producers promised to tape a retraction but they never did. Steve Powers of Fox TV News did the expose. Powers had earlier covered Fish Condos, so he was familiar with Skaggs' work. Keep this particular point in mind as you read further.