Sarah Morgan
Because I guess he thought that nobody would have remembered that he won A MILLION DOLLARS. On LIVE NATIONAL TELEVISION.
“Survivor” Winner Is Charged with Filing False Tax Return
Associated Press
January 18, 2005 2:02 p.m.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Richard Hatch, who won the first-ever “Survivor” series, has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of tax evasion, for filing false tax returns.
Federal prosecutors charged that Mr. Hatch, 43 years old, failed to report his $1 million in winnings from the CBS show, and didn’t report another $321,000 he was paid by a Boston radio station.
The penalty could be up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge. However, as part of the plea agreement filed in federal court, the U.S. Attorney’s office said it would recommend a lesser sentence.
Mr. Hatch is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Providence on Monday.
The charges were announced Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney’s office. The details of the plea agreement appeared in court documents, which were signed last week by Mr. Hatch and filed Tuesday.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Survivor Entertainment Group paid Mr. Hatch $10,000 in August 2000 for appearing on the final episode of the reality show and $1 million for being declared the show’s winner. Prosecutors allege that in November 2002, Mr. Hatch filed a false personal income tax return for the 2000 tax year by failing to report the $1.01 million.
Prosecutors also said that Hatch failed to report income he earned during appearances on WQSX-FM in Boston between January and December 2001.
A message left at Mr. Hatch’s Newport, R.I., home wasn’t immediately returned.
Copyright © 2005 Associated Press
