PROVIDENCE -- Rhode Island Survivor star Richard Hatch has backed
out of his agreement to plead guilty to charges that he did not pay
taxes on more than $1 million in earnings that stemmed from winning the
hit reality TV show.
As a result, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Providence announced today
that a hearing scheduled for tomorrow in U.S. District Court has been
cancelled, and the U.S. attorney will bring Hatch's case before a grand
jury.
Hatch had been charged with two counts of filing false income tax
returns through a criminal information in January, and he had agreed to
plead guilty in return for a lenient sentencing recommendation from the
government, according to court papers.
Prosecutors alleged that Hatch did not report to the Internal Revenue
Service the $10,000 he received for appearing in the final episode of
Survivor's first season or the $1-million prize he got for winning
the island survival competition.
He was also accused of evading taxes on the $321,000 he earned as a
talk-show host on The Wilde Show, on Boston's WQSX-FM.
The government asserts that Hatch filed false tax returns in 2000 and
2001.
But the U.S. Attorney's Office today announced that it does not plan to
pursue that criminal information and will instead bring the Hatch case
to a grand jury for consideration of all possible charges.
In a motion filed yesterday, prosecutors asked the court to dismiss the
criminal information against Hatch. The government said Hatch had
indicated through his attorney that he will not enter a guilty plea. No
reason was given in the goverment's motion.
Hatch was released on bail following a Jan. 25 arraignment at which he
did not enter a plea.
The tax evasion charges each carry a maximum penalty of five years in
prison and a $250,000 fine.
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