Richard Hatch
found guilty of not paying taxes

Richard Hatch, who won $1 million in the first season of television's Survivor, was found guilty Wednesday of failing to pay taxes on his winnings. Hatch was handcuffed and taken into custody after U.S. district judge Ernest Torres said he was a potential flight risk. He also was convicted of evading taxes on $327,000 he earned as cohost of a Boston radio show and $28,000 in rent on property he owned. He was acquitted of seven bank, mail, and wire fraud charges.

Hatch, 44, faces up to 13 years in prison and a fine of $600,000. Sentencing was scheduled for April 28. Jurors deliberated for less than a day after more than a week of testimony.

Besides the tax charges, prosecutors accused Hatch of using money donated to his charitable foundation, Horizon Bound, an outdoors program he planned to open for troubled youth. He allegedly spent the money on expenses that included tips to a limousine driver, dry cleaning, and tens of thousands of dollars on improvements to a house he owned.

Near the end of the trial, an explanation for Hatch's failure to pay taxes was raised by his lawyer--but never mentioned in the jury's presence. Hatch's lawyer, Michael Minns, said Hatch caught fellow Survivor contestants cheating and struck a deal with the show's producers to pay his taxes if he won. But Hatch was never asked about the allegation when he testified. Instead, Minns told jurors that Hatch, who lives in Newport, R.I., was the "world's worst bookkeeper" and said his client never meant to do anything wrong. Hatch testified that he thought producers were supposed to pay his Survivor taxes, adding that the donations he took from his charity were far less than the money he had already poured into it.

More than five years after winning, the out Hatch remains reality TV's most famous villain, the man viewers loved to hate. He first captured their attention for shedding his clothes on Survivor, prompting David Letterman to call him "the fat naked guy." But he made the biggest impression--and won the show--by scheming his way to the top. He reveled as squabbles among his fellow contestants thinned their ranks, connived with teammates to stick together, and then pitted his allies against each other.

Early on, he used his success on the show to get more work, including a "Got Milk?" ad and an appearance on Survivor All-Stars--where he was voted off by fellow contestants. He also appeared on TV game shows, including The Weakest Link. That appearance, made on behalf of Horizon Bound, netted a $10,000 donation to his charity camp--money prosecutors said was among the funds misused.

But Hatch's shrewdness did not serve him well in the legal world. A year ago prosecutors offered him a deal: plead guilty to two counts of tax evasion, and they would recommend less than the maximum 10-year sentence. After initially agreeing, Hatch walked away, retaining Minns as his new lawyer and appearing on NBC's Today show to claim that CBS was supposed to pay the taxes. Prosecutors responded with a grand jury, which indicted Hatch on 10 counts carrying a maximum of 73 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines.

During the trial, prosecutors called witnesses, including Mark Burnett, executive producer of Survivor. Burnett testified that Hatch's Survivor contract stated he would have to pay taxes on his prize. Minns never asked him about the cheating allegation, and Burnett and CBS declined to comment about it. (Ray Lewis, AP)