Survivor Richard Rebuffs IRS Deal

Thu., Mar. 3, 2005 2:00 PM PST by Josh Grossberg

Maybe Richard Hatch thinks he can outwit, outlast and outplay the IRS.

The original Survivor champ has decided to withdraw from an agreement with government prosecutors in which he would have pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

Hatch, 43, is accused of failing to report the $1 million prize he won on the hit CBS show in 2000 as well as $10,000 he received for appearing in the post-finale special. The butt-baring reality star also neglected to mention the $321,000 he earned the following year for cohosting a Boston radio show.

Hatch had struck a tentative deal to enter the guilty plea and make good on the back taxes; in exchange, the U.S. attorney's office in Providence, Rhode Island, was going to recommend the most lenient sentence for two counts of filing false tax returns. The offenses carry a maximum of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Now that he's ditching the deal, prosecutors will send the case to a grand jury, which will go over the evidence and decide whether to indict Hatch on tax evasion.

No reason was given for Hatch's about-face. His attorney, John MacDonald, did not return a phone call seeking comment Thursday.

Hatch has been free on $50,000 bail since surrendering his passport at his arraignment in January.

After his Survivor triumph, Hatch milked his 15 minutes by cameoing as himself on the sitcom Becker, publishing a book, becoming a motivational speaker and cohosting the Wilde Show on Boston's WQSX-FM. Last year, he appeared on Survivor: All-Stars, where he was snuffed in the early rounds, and turned up on an episode of Dr. Phil to discuss his son's relationship with a suspected pedophile.

The former corporate trainer and Army veteran is no stranger to the justice system. In 2000, just days after returning from Pulau Tiga, Hatch was accused of abusing his son, but the charge was dropped. A judge later tossed a civil suit Hatch filed against local police, whom he claimed falsely arrested him.

In 2001, he was arrested and found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of domestic assault against an ex-boyfriend, but the following year the conviction was overturned by an appeals court judge.