Gov’t Recommends Jail For ‘Survivor’ Champ Hatch

Reality TV star Richard Hatch, who spent more than three years behind bars for tax evasion, should go to jail for violating the conditions of his supervised release, federal prosecutors recommended Monday.

Hatch was convicted in 2006 of failing to pay taxes on the $1 million prize he won on the debut season of “Survivor,” the CBS reality TV show. He was released from prison in 2009 and began serving a three-year term of supervised release.

He was ordered to file amended tax returns for 2000 and 2001 as a condition of his release, which Hatch has failed to do. A judge this month found Hatch in violation of his supervised release but postponed a punishment until he could hear more arguments from both sides.

Hatch, who owes about $1.7 million in back taxes, has said he didn’t refile his taxes because he has an appeal pending with the U.S. Tax Court. His lawyer also is scheduled to submit her sentencing recommendation sometime Monday, and U.S. District Judge William Smith has said he’ll schedule a sentencing after he receives the arguments.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Reich recommended in a sentencing memorandum on Monday that Hatch go to jail and be required to refile his amended returns. He said Hatch has a pattern of lying and defying court orders.

Reich did not recommend the length of a jail sentence, though Hatch has about two years left of supervised release.

“The defendant’s punishment for violating the terms of his supervised release should take into account the fact that the defendant has failed to accept responsibility for his conduct, that he has disregarded the order of the court, and that he has continued to make false representations to the court just as he did during his trial,” Reich wrote.

Hatch became reality TV’s first villain when he bested the “Survivor” competition with a beguiling mix of intelligence and ruthlessness. He was charged in 2005 in Rhode Island, where he lives, with failing to pay taxes on his “Survivor” prize and other income. He was sentenced to 51 months in prison, with a judge giving him extra time for lying on the stand.

Hatch, who is openly gay, has since complained that he was unfairly prosecuted in part because of his sexuality — a charge prosecutors say is absurd.

Hatch is currently a participant on-air in this season of NBC and Donald Trump’s reality show, “The Celebrity Apprentice,” which has completed filming.

‘Big Brother 9’ Champ Gets Four Years In Drug Case

The winner of the CBS reality show “Big Brother 9” appealed to a judge for leniency Friday, saying he wanted “a chance to get out and find out who I really am,” before he was sentenced to four years in federal prison on drug trafficking and tax charges.

U.S. District Court Judge William Young handed down the sentence while Adam Jasinski, 32, of Delray Beach, Fla., listened and nodded while his parents quietly sobbed. Jasinski was arrested for attempting to sell 2,000 oxycodone pills in October 2009 to a witness cooperating with the government in North Reading, Mass.

“You were drug trafficking, and you were drug trafficking until they caught you,” said Young. “You got to a position where you thought that the rules didn’t apply to you.”

The sentence came after Jasinski asked Young for a lighter sentence or time served. Jasinski pleaded guilty in October to possession with attempt to distribute oxycodone and failure to file a tax return for 2008, the year he won the $500,000 “Big Brother” prize.

“I’m sick. I won $500,000 and I blew it all,” said an emotional Jasinski, who also has admitted to being treated for bipolar disorder and drug addiction. “I apologize. I’m a mess…Give me a chance to get out and find out who I really am.”

Jasinski’s lawyer, Valerie Carter, sought for a sentence of around 10 months, or time served.

Young told Jasinski he had shown progress in seeking treatment for his drug addiction and his mental illness. Young said that’s why he opted not to adopt Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Ricci’s recommendation for a 4 1/5 year prison sentence.

But Young said it was the second time Jasinski was convicted on drug charges. He was sentenced to five years’ probation after his previous conviction in New York.

Jasinski had faced a maximum 14 years on the drug charge and one year on the tax charge.

After Jasinski won “Big Brother 9” in April 2008, Ricci said Jasinski failed to file an income tax return and failed to pay taxes owed on the prize money. The series features contestants who live under constant surveillance and vote once a week to evict each other.