Richard Hatch (Survivor Winner) Hit With Tax Evasion Rap

[qanda]

Richard Hatch, the first winner of CBS's "Survivor," was charged today with failing to report his $1 million reality TV windfall to the Internal Revenue Service. The below two-count criminal information, unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, charges Hatch with filing a false 2000 tax return that omitted his seven-figure "Survivor" winnings. (more)

http://thesmokinggun.com/archive/0118051hatch1.html

[kaitykaity]

1. ha ha ha. ha ha ha ha ha. ha ha ha.

I'm sorry but ha ha ha.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Ha ha ha.

[Chovexani]

2. My sentiments exactly

Just try to outwit, outlast the IRS. Mwahahahaha!

What a moron though, seriously. I mean how stupid do you have to be to not declare income that YOU WON ON NATIONAL TV WITH MILLIONS WATCHING? Idiot.

[lazarus]

3. eh

I loved Hatch, but yeah, this is kinda dumb.

OTOH, he had a lot of other income that year from appearances, etc. Odds are very good he hired an accountant.

How many celebrities have we seen get in trouble with the IRS because their accountant didn't do their job?

[kaitykaity]

4. Oh, it couldn't be that Hatch was so arrogant he thought he

could get away with it?

:hi:

[lazarus]

5. No, I doubt that very much

There's arrogance in an arena you're confident in, then there's stupidity.

Hatch isn't stupid.

[kaitykaity]

6. Oh but he is arrogant.

Most arrogant people don't have the internal capacity
to make the distinction between the "arena" and life
in general. The personality characteristic is pervasive
to all areas.

There's a saying about this somewhere and I can't remember
it. Arrogance in service..... Or maybe I'm channeling
Goldwater.

Anyway.

[Chovexani]

7. Especially reality famewhores

They have an especially hard time distinguishing between the "arena" and life in general. *cough*Assathan from TAR*cough*

[dr.strangelove]

9. It was an accountant

Granted this info comes from a radio DJ, so I don;t know if it is accurate, but the DJ on 104.3 in NY was talking about it a few hours ago. Hatch is expected to plead guilty. The DJ reported that he had a lawyer and an accountant do the work for him. He set up a corporation to run his appearances and such. The prize money was paid to him, but the rest of his earnings that year were paid to the corp. He put all the money into the corp and paid taxes through the corp (after lots of business expenses I am sure). Anyway, the initial prize money went to him, not the corp. He had to pay tax on it regardless of who he gave it to. The corp is due a tax refund though. He will probably file a claim with his accountant and lawyers E&O insurance policies to get back whatever fine he has to pay and the interest on the tax bill.

[lazarus]

10. Thanks for the follow up, doc

I figured it'd be an accounting error.

[dr.strangelove]

11. Stupidity, not an error

I'm not an accountant, but even I know that you can't avoid income tax by transferring your income into a corporation. If you could, I would do that with my check each week like most, if not all, other workers would do. I think he is going to sue his money managers. Hatch is too smart to do this, so I give him a little blame too.

Again, all that was from a DJ, so I don;t know how accurate it was. They may have gotten it from the Enquirer for all I know.

[Scurrilous]

8. 'Survivor' Hatch Arraigned on Tax Charges

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050126/ap_on_en_tv/survivor_taxes

<snip>


"Survivor" winner Richard Hatch was arraigned Tuesday in federal court on charges that he never paid taxes on the $1 million he won on the hit CBS reality show.

Hatch did not enter a plea, but told U.S. Magistrate Judge Lincoln Almond that he understood the charges, and waived his right to a grand jury. Almond released Hatch on a $50,000 bond, which the reality TV star posted immediately following the hearing.
A plea hearing will be scheduled at a later date with U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres. Prosecutors said they expected Hatch to eventually plead guilty as part of an agreement in which they would recommend leniency when Hatch is sentenced."

<snip>

"As part of the plea agreement, Hatch said he would pay the taxes he owes, which the government said are between $200,000 and $400,000. The agreement does not shield him from any penalties the Internal Revenue Service might impose.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Survivor Entertainment Group paid Hatch $10,000 in August 2000 for appearing on the final episode of the reality show and $1 million for being declared the show's winner. Prosecutors allege that in November 2002, Hatch filed a false personal income tax return for the 2000 tax year by failing to report the $1.01 million.

Prosecutors also said that Hatch failed to report income he earned working as on-air co-host and on-air personality for "The Wilde Show" on WQSX-FM in Boston between January and December 2001."