Richard Hatch is reportedly returning to reality TV.

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The original Survivor winner will among the celebrities competing on the upcoming season of The Celebrity Apprentice, TMZ reported Wednesday.

In addition to Hatch, rapper Lil Jon, supermodel Niki Taylor, and former MLB star and steroids whistleblower Jose Canseco will also be part of The Celebrity Apprentice's fourth-season cast when the reality competition begins filming in New York City next week, according to TMZ.

If he participates, The Celebrity Apprentice will be Hatch's first reality appearance since he completed his 51-month prison sentence for failing to pay taxes on the $1 million prize and vehicle he received for winning Survivor's first season in 2000, as well as $28,000 of real estate rental income and an additional $327,000 he earned during a Boston radio show co-host stint that followed his Survivor win.

CBS invited Hatch -- who also participated in Survivor: All-Stars in 2004 -- to compete on last year's Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains all-stars edition last year.  However, he was unable to participate because his final 90-day home confinement stint (which was later revoked when he participated in several unapproved media interviews) wasn't scheduled to end until two months after the season was filmed.  

The Celebrity Apprentice's fourth season would also reunite Hatch with Survivor and The Apprentice executive producer Mark Burnett -- who Hatch has repeatedly claimed promised to have CBS pay the taxes on his $1 million prize after he allegedly saw a member of the show's production crew give some castaways food while the show's first season was taking place.

Both CBS and Burnett -- who testified as a prosecution witness at Hatch's trial in 2006 -- have consistently denied the allegation, which the Survivor winner opted not to testify about during his own sworn trial testimony.

While he was acquitted on several other bank, mail and wire fraud charges, the Rhode Island jury hearing the case eventually took only six hours to find Hatch guilty of two tax evasion counts and one count of filing a false corporate return.

Hatch was originally expected to only get a sentence between 33 and 41 months but received the 51-month term after the judge overseeing the case agreed with prosecutors' claims that he had "blatantly perjured" himself during his testimony.

Hatch subsequently labeled himself an "innocent man in jail" and appealed his case to the U.S. District Court of Appeals but lost.  He then attempted to also appeal his conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court however it declined to hear the case.

Canseco and Taylor also have previous reality ties. 

Canseco participated in the fifth edition of VH1's The Surreal Life in 2005.  Ironically, the cast also included original The Apprentice villainess Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth.

Taylor served as a judge and co-host for the first season of Bravo's Make Me a Supermodel reality competition in 2008 but did not return for its second-season revamp.

According to prior reports, David Cassidy, La Toya Jackson, Star Jones, Mark McGrath, Lisa Rinna, and Dionne Warwick will also be part of The Celebrity Apprentice's fourth season.

The Celebrity Apprentice's fourth season is scheduled to premiere on NBC early next year.
About The Author: Steven Rogers

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