Richard Hatch, winner of the inaugural season of reality competition show "Survivor" 26 years ago, was ordered to pay $3.3 million in back taxes on that win by a federal judge this week.
Shortly after winning the $1 million prize in 2000, Hatch was accused of tax evasion by the Internal Revenue Service, and now owes $3.3 million in delinquent income taxes and penalties, according to
The order to make payments on his unpaid tax liabilities in 2000, 2001 and 2012 was made by a federal judge in Providence, Rhode Island, as reported by The Globe. Hatch previously spent more than four years in prison after being convicted of tax evasion in federal court in 2006. The IRS claimed he filed a false tax return for the approximately $1,428,000 he earned from "Survivor," though Hatch continued to claim innocence.
For this recent court appearance, Hatch represented himself and filed an appeal with the Boston-based First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"People think I'm crazy, but I'm really, really hopeful," Hatch said to The Globe. "I think the appellate court will see for the first time what has really happened throughout this case."
The government also placed a tax lien on two properties the IRS alleges he owned and fraudulently transferred to his sister, but Hatch has denied the claim.
