PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Richard Hatch, who won $1 million in the debut season of "Survivor," was sentenced Tuesday to 51 months in prison for failing to pay income taxes on his reality TV prize and other earnings.
U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres said he issued a harsher than expected sentence because Hatch had committed perjury repeatedly during his trial.
"It seems unfortunately very clear to me that Mr. Hatch lied," Torres said. When Hatch was convicted, Torres said he expected to sentence him to 33 to 41 months.
"I believe I've been completely truthful and completely forthcoming throughout the entire process," Hatch told the judge before he was sentenced.
Hatch claimed he thought the show's producers would pay his taxes and pleaded ignorance about money matters, saying he forgot to tell his accountants about some income.
"Survivor" earned CBS a ratings hit. Hatch became known as "the fat naked guy" — a term coined by David Letterman — for refusing to wear clothes for much of the show.
Hatch sowed seeds of conflict among his competitors, and an estimated 51 million viewers were watching when he received his winning check.
At times, he seemed to handle his criminal case like an extended reality TV competition. He abruptly walked away from a plea deal with prosecutors and pleaded his innocence to Katie Couric on the "Today" show.
flotsamnjetsam wrote:That's ridiculous. I'm not saying that he shouldn't get in trouble for this, but 4+ years is way too much.
It does seem kind of high, but he essentially stole $327,000 from the govt and then committed perjury on top of it. If he's broke, he obviously can't pay that money back, so what other recourse do they have?
The Survivor host made a joke about this when the new winner was announced this past sunday. He said "I only have one piece of advice for you...PAY YOUR TAXES".
I had no idea what he was talking about until just now when I came and read this thread. 4 years is kind of harsh when Martha Stewart only got something like 6 months or something plus probation? And she basically did the same thing, stole money and lied about it.
As far as the gang rape survivor comment, well Hatch is gay, so he'll probably do just fine
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by The Balanced Man » Tue May 16, 2006 1:56 pm 
