PROVIDENCE -- Survivor star Richard Hatch's duplicitous ways may have made him a reality TV show winner. But today they earned him extra time in prison, as a federal judge sentenced him to 51 months for tax evasion and lying during his trial.
Hatch, 45, was ordered to serve the prison sentence after U.S. District Chief Judge Ernest C. Torres concluded that he had lied on the witness stand and also lied to probation officials.
Torres said Hatch had obstructed justice with his dishonesty, and he penalized him with a harsher sentence. "Mr. Hatch lied in his testimony to this court and did so repeatedly," the judge said.
Hatch, who has already spent more than three months behind bars, was escorted into the courtroom with his hands cuffed behind his back and wearing orange scrubs and leg shackles.
"I believe I've been completely truthful and completely forthcoming throughout the entire process," Hatch told Torres during a sentencing hearing that lasted more than two hours.
Torres also ordered that Hatch serve three years of probation after his release and that he undergo counseling. The judge said Hatch seems to be "in denial."
"I can't tell whether you've convinced yourself that some of these things are true that you've fabricated," Torres said.
Michael Minns, one of Hatch's attorneys, said they have already filed an appeal.
The Newport resident who gained fame for his cunning ability to stay on the island during Survivor's first season seemed unfazed by the time he's already served or the sentence.
He greeted his mother and sister when he entered the courtroom, smiled after hearing his sentence, and then appeared to try to comfort his relatives.
Hatch had been convicted Jan. 25 of two counts of tax evasion and one count of filing a false income tax return. Federal guidelines had called for a sentence ranging from 33 to 41 months on those charges.
After an eight-day trial, a federal jury concluded that Hatch had failed to report multiple sources of income, including the Pontiac Aztec and $1 million he won on Survivor, the $320,000 he received for cohosting a Boston radio program and $27,000 he collected in rent.
Trial testimony showed that Hatch had two accountants prepare year 2000 tax returns that included his Survivor income. The first return, by Richard Plotkin, concluded that Hatch owed $374,000. The second return, completed by Jodi Rodrigues Wallace, concluded that he owed less money, $234,000, because Hatch didn't tell Wallace about all of his income.
Hatch didn't file either return.
Instead, he later asked Wallace to complete another return without the Survivor winnings for "informational" purposes. That return, which claimed a $4,000 refund, is the one that Hatch filed, although Wallace testified that she required Hatch to sign a document saying, "This return is not to be filed."
Hatch claimed during the trial Wallace "did not tell me not to file that return. She told me she couldn't be associated with that return."
Torres cited Hatch's testimony about the tax returns among the several examples that led him to conclude that Hatch had lied. Torres noted that Plotkin and Wallace both testified that they had told Hatch that his Survivor income had to be included in his 2000 return, but Hatch denied that on the stand.
Prosecutor Andrew Reich, an assistant U.S. attorney, asked Torres to impose a harsh sentence, saying there were several aggravating factors.
He said Hatch first went to Plotkin and then Wallace in an attempt to "manipulate other people" to get the return he wanted. And then at trial he blamed them.
"He ended up basically pointing the finger at other people, putting the blame on other people," Reich said. "This was all very well thought out."
Reich also noted that Hatch neglected to tell probation officials about property he owns in Canada and Michigan, which Torres concluded was an attempt by Hatch to obstruct justice.
Minns asked for a lesser sentence, saying Hatch had a troubled childhood. He said Hatch has a good military record and has served on the board of directors for an adoption agency. He also asked Torres not to impose a fine, saying Hatch faces a big IRS bill.
Torres did not fine Hatch. He did order Hatch to pay the taxes he owes for 2000 and 2001, a figure the IRS calculates at $474,971 plus interest and penalties.
After the sentencing, Eileen J. O'Connor, assistant attorney eneral of the Justice Department's Tax Division, said in a statement:
“Our nation’s federal tax system is not a reality show to be outwitted, it is a reality, period. The Department of Justice is working vigorously to vindicate the interests of law-abiding taxpayers: tax cheats will be found out, prosecuted, and punished."
Standing on the courthouse steps afterward, the U.S. attorney for Rhode Island, Robert Clark Corrente said, "Everybody has to pay their taxes. Nobody is special."
It was not clear today whether Hatch would be returned to the Plymouth County, Mass., facility where he been held or sent to another prison.
-- With reports from Journal staff writer Richard Salit
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