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'Survivor' winner is guilty of tax evasion

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published May 17, 2006

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Richard Hatch, who won $1-million in the debut season of Survivor, has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for failing to pay taxes on his reality TV prize and other income.

U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres said he believed Hatch had repeatedly committed perjury on the witness stand during his trial in January.

"There's no nice way to say it: Mr. Hatch lied," Torres said, later adding that Hatch took a serious offense and made it worse by offering deliberately false testimony.

Torres sentenced Hatch to 51 months.

In addition to the Survivor prize, Hatch, 45, of Newport, was convicted of evading taxes on $327,000 he earned as co-host of a Boston radio show and $28,000 in rent on property he owned. The charges carried a maximum of 13 years in prison.

"I believe I've been completely truthful and completely forthcoming throughout the entire process," Hatch told Torres before he was sentenced Tuesday. Hatch pleaded ignorance about money matters during the trial. He said he forgot to tell his accountants about some income and claimed he thought the show's producers would pay his taxes.

He appeared upbeat after learning he was headed to prison for more than four years, shaking hands with his lawyers and greeting family members, then calling out, "See you later, Mom."

[Last modified May 17, 2006, 06:34:32]