Survivor Richard Hatch pled not guilty today to charges that he didn’t report his $1 million in winnings from the reality television show, and charges of filing a false S-corporation tax return, mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud. Hatch told the Providence Journal that, “I’ve always, always, always paid my taxes and always will.”
However, the government alleges that he didn’t. The allegations include that Hatch shopped around for the tax return that had him pay as little as possible to the government. The Journal says that he visited two accountants. The first prepared a return where he would have owed over $400,000 to the IRS; the second prepared a return where he would have paid over $200,000 to the IRS. Both of these returns included the income from Survivor. Neither return was filed. The second accountant then prepared a return that did not include the Survivor income; it showed Hatch receiving a refund from the IRS of $4,483. The accountant noted that it was for informational purposes only and should not be filed. Hatch filed that return.
Hatch is free on $50,000 bond until his trial.
News story (Providence Journal)
The indictment
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