First 'Survivor' Winner Dodged Taxes, Prosecutors Say
BOSTON (Reuters) - He survived one of the toughest tests of reality television but now Richard Hatch, the first winner of the U.S. TV series "Survivor," is facing his toughest challenge yet.
Hatch failed to report the $1 million he won on "Survivor," federal prosecutors said on Tuesday as they charged him with filing false tax returns.
The 43-year-old Hatch, whose brash strategizing propelled him to victory in 2000's "Survivor" series on CBS, is charged on two counts in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Providence, Rhode Island.
Prosecutors said Hatch
not only failed to report his $1 million winnings in federal tax returns but also left off more than $300,000 that a Boston radio station paid him to co-host a program in 2001.
Hatch, who lives in Newport, Rhode Island, could face up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine if convicted on both counts, prosecutors said in a statement. He was due to be arraigned on Monday in Providence, they said.
Information, United States v. Hatch, posted here
First 'Survivor' Winner Dodged Taxes, Prosecutors Say
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