2000 Survivor contestant Richard Hatch has seen his share of troubles since winning $1 million during season one of the popular CBS reality show.
Hatch appeared on NBC’s Today Show for an interview with Matt Lauer (see video below), to address his tax evasion conviction, only to find himself arrested again just hours later.
Hatch has been under house arrest after serving nearly four years in prison for tax evasion. He told Lauer that he is innocent of the charges and believes he was prosecuted because he is gay.
“I know without question that there are personal issues involved for the prosecutor. I don’t know why. The prosecutorial misconduct has been egregious,” Hatch told Lauer.
“He told the court I didn’t pay my taxes in 2000, and he told the court I haven’t been cooperative,” Hatch said. “The IRS specifically contradicts that. I don’t have a bill for 2000. I haven’t even been assessed for 2000. And I’ve been fully cooperative.”
Prosecutors call Hatch’s claims “baseless” and “delusional.”
Hatch, who was due to be released from home confinement on October 7, was picked up by authorities after his Today Show appearance. According to Hatch’s sister, he was told he was being taken back to jail because he did an interview. Hatch told Lauer that his Today Show interview was approved by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Today producers had confirmed that Lauer’s interview was approved.
Authorities were unable to provide details about Hatch’s new detainment, saying there are numerous reasons why an inmate might be transferred from house arrest to jail.
“We just don’t have the same kind of details on the federal inmates we book as we do with the regular city and county inmates,” Sheriff’s Office spokesman Roy Lyons told MSNBC.com. “It’s got to be that he violated some kind of condition. There’s no other reason this would have happened.”
Watch Richard Hatch Today Show interview video below.
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