He was convicted on tax evasion. He had a plea deal in place but he pleaded not guilty and that is why he got the stiffer sentence. Not only did he not pay taxes on the million dollars he won from the show, he didn't pay it on all of the endorsements/speaker fees also.
in almost all federal cases when sentenced you must do a minimum of 85% of the sentence before being released. in this case the sentence was stiff because he continued to lie on the stand. that is where the perjury came from. the feds really don't like it when you lie to them and jack them around. you do that and THEY WILL MAKE YOU PAY.
It's amazing to me that he even plead not guilty with the evidence against him. He would have lost 1000 out of 1000 times. The cornerstone of his defense was that he was an idiot and a very bad bookkeeper. Hatch's accountant prepared a tax return with his $1 million winnings included, which would have had Hatch paying $120,000 in taxes. Richard didn't like the way that one turned out, so he had the accountant prepare one without the $1 million in it, and on that return Hatch even got a small refund. The accountant, covering his own ass, had Hatch sign a waver which explained how he strongly recommeded that Hatch file the return with the million in it. To compound matters, Hatch told lie after lie to perjure himself during the trial, which was why he got a stiffer sentance than the prosecution was asking for.
Moral of the story: Pay your taxes.
Moral of the story: Pay your taxes.
I believe I heard it reported that he'll be in solitary confinement as protective because of his "fame". Funny how life works....if he didn't win SUrvivor, he wouldn't be in jail for the next four years. Some people make lemonaide out of lemons. Others like Hatch can take a chocolate cake and turn it into shit burger.
