"Survivor" Star's Federal Immunity Challenge

Thu., Jan. 12, 2006 3:05 PM PST by Gina Serpe

Richard Hatch is facing a whole new kind of tribal council: A jury of his peers.

The federal tax evasion trial of the original Survivor winner kicked off Thursday in Providence, Rhode Island, with prosecutors claiming Hatch "willfully" committed fraud to keep from paying out nearly $200,000 to the IRS from his TV show winnings and other income.

The reality vet's lawyer, Michael Minns, countered with a snapshot of his case: "Richard Hatch is not a stupid man," Minns said in his opening statement. "He is the world's worst bookkeeper, bar none."

Minns claimed that Hatch, who allegedly failed to report his $1 million Survivor purse, as well as $327,000 he earned for cohosting a Boston radio show and $28,000 from a rental property, did not do so intentionally.

According to Minns, the clothes-eschewing Hatch, 44, was struggling with his newfound fame after outwitting, outlasting and outplaying all comers in Survivor's inaugural season, and was also overwhelmed by child abuse charges involving his young son that were brought against him at the time (and later dropped). Minns said Hatch was operating on the advice of a self-employed accountant who was "in over her head."

Hogwash, said prosecutor Andrew Reich. (We paraphrase.)

"The evidence will show that not only did he fail to report those earnings on his tax returns, but that he acted willfully," Reich said in his opening remarks to the 12 jurors and six alternates.

Reich told the panel that Hatch had not only sought a $4,500 refund from the IRS in 2001 when he pocketed the Survivor booty, but that he also altered checks made out to his own charitable foundation, Horizon Bound, to renovate rental properties in Newport.

Hatch has pleaded not guilty to charges of tax evasion, filing a false tax return, wire fraud, bank fraud and mail fraud.

He had worked out a plea bargain with prosecutors, but backed out of the deal in March, at which time he said he believed CBS would pick up the tab on his winnings' taxes.

Taking the stand Thursday was Survivor mastermind Mark Burnett, who testified that Hatch, like all contestants, signed an agreement before the show stating that he would be responsible for all taxes on his winnings.

The federal case is a whole different kind of immunity challenge for Hatch. Should he be convicted, he could face up to 75 years behind bars and millions of dollars in fines.