‘Survivor’: Richard Hatch star of CBS’s ‘Survivor’ guilty of tax evasion

Richard Hatch.Credit : Monty Brinton/CBS Photo Archive via Getty

Richard Hatch is pushing back against his federal tax debt.

The reality star, who won the first-ever season of Survivor in 2000, is involved in a lawsuit with the federal government in Rhode Island over the money he won on the competition series nearly three decades ago. At the time, his victory totaled $1,010,000.

Richard Hatch.. Jesse Grant/WireImage

According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, a judge ruled on March 17 that Hatch owes $3,293,471.56, “plus statutory additions from and after May 13, 2024, including interest” that will continue to accrue until the amount is paid. This stems from federal income tax liabilities from 2000, 2001 and 2012, per the docs.

The judge further declared that the verdict be set as final, allowing “the United States to start to use the Federal Debt Collection Procedure.”

Two days after the judgement was made, Hatch filed an official notice of appeal that he will be fighting the decision in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He also indicated that he is representing himself in the matter.

In a statement to PEOPLE, Hatch said, “This appeal will be the first objective review of the facts. I am confident that the appellate court’s review of the full record – including evidence that was not adequately addressed below – will result in a just outcome.”

“I have spent 25 years trying to do the right thing in a complicated situation, and I remain committed to resolving this matter fairly,” he concluded. “I have nothing further to say while the appeal is pending.”

The case, which was first filed against Hatch in 2022, stems from a long history of legal trouble. In 2006, a jury found him guilty of two counts of tax evasion regarding unpaid sums from the 2000 and 2001 tax years.

He was sentenced to 51 months of incarceration followed by three years of supervised release, and was required to file amended income tax returns for 2000 and 2001 and pay the amounts in full. He did not comply and was sent back to prison in 2011.

The 2022 complaint also claimed that Hatch deeded two properties he owned to his sister Kristin in 2003 and 2005, in an effort to evade responsibility for the liens he was facing.

“Richard H. Hatch, Jr., transferred record title of the Real Properties to Kristin M. Hatch with the actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud the creditors of Richard H. Hatch, Jr., including the United States, and thus was fraudulent,” the government alleged in the complaint.

The IRS later mailed Hatch a Notice of Deficiency for the unassessed tax liabilities in 2010. “Despite proper notice and demand, Richard H. Hatch, Jr., failed, neglected, or refused to fully pay the liabilities,” according to the complaint.

Hatch contested the proposed deficiencies and penalties, and had also “submitted multiple offers in compromise,” which were denied. In 2012, the complaint stated that he was “barred and estopped from further contesting these liabilities” after a stipulated decision was entered.