He should have brought a counter claim for the 2k, those judge shows pay whatever they're after. The fine print disclaimer at the end of the show says all parties are paid by the show.
Still the judge seems very rude to not even hear further info. Although... why the guy went on the show in the first place is beyond me unless he just wanted the guy to be paid off without it coming out of his pocket.
Man in the middle attacks are very real. I was victim to one and went through $20K in identity theft because of it a few years ago. It is surprisingly easy to open a checking account online in someones name without being at a branch in person. It was a mess. Filing police reports. Dealing with fraudulent CC's.