‘Survivor’ Couldn’t Survive Tax Evasion Charges
Richard Hatch survived the elements, cameras, and backstabbing contestants to win $1 million on the reality TV show Survivor. But Hatch couldn’t win his most recent challenge — tax charges
“Our nation’s federal tax system is not a reality show to be outwitted — it is a reality, period. The Department of Justice is working vigorously to vindicate the interests of law-abiding taxpayers: Tax cheats will be found out, prosecuted, and punished.”
Those harsh words came from Eileen J. O’Connor, the Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
And her target: Richard Hatch, the winner of the first season of CBS’s hit reality TV show Survivor.
Last month, Hatch was sentenced to 51 months in prison after a federal jury in Rhode Island found him guilty of trying to evade $1.4 million in income taxes.
Hatch’s was one of the highest-profile tax evasion cases the U.S. Justice Department has handled in recent months. And prosecutors meant business.
They set out to prove that — although Hatch may have survived a deserted island — he couldn’t survive the wrath of the IRS.
Hatch’s popularity was, in large part, due to his shamelessness: On Survivor, Hatch often roamed around the island naked as the day he was born. In fact, David Letterman coined a nickname for Hatch: “fat naked guy.”
And Hatch was equally shameless with his personal finances.
At trial, prosecutors showed that Hatch failed to declare on his income tax return the $1 million to he earned as the winner of Survivor as well as $10,000 he received from Survivor Entertainment Group to appear on the show’s final episode.
After Hatch appeared on Survivor, his star began to rise. He became a co-host and on-air personality for The Wilde Show on WQSX-FM in Boston between January and December 2001.
He then did not report as income the money he made from his radio appearances, prosecutors alleged at trial. In all, Hatch received $321,139 from the radio work.
Hatch also failed to report other income for 2000 and 2001, including a Pontiac Aztec worth $27,074 and given to him as part of his Survivor prize; $27,698 in rental income; and $36,500 in charitable donations to Hatch’s foundation, Horizon Bound.
“In addition to punishing this defendant, this sentence should serve as a warning to others who might think of dodging their tax obligations,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente. “Paying taxes is an ordeal, but it is every citizen’s obligation to pay them honestly and fully.”
Added IRS Special Agent-in-Charge Douglas A. Bricker: “"It is important for those of us who pay our taxes to know there are consequences when greed and arrogance interfere with obeying the law.”
Remember Hatch the next time you think about cheating the IRS.
Because not even he survived.
Becky Schmitz is a Certified Tax Resolution Specialist, a member of
the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and an Enrolled Agent. You
can contact her at 406-651-4445 or at www.centsableaccounting.com
to obtain a free subscription to her newsletter titled The IRS Times &
Inquirer. For advice on what to do about taxes you have not paid, request
a free consultation from Centsable Accounting.