He Won $1M on First Survivor, Now Owes $3M in Taxes on It

Twenty-six years after becoming reality TV's original million-dollar winner, Richard Hatch now faces a tax bill that's more than triple his Survivor prize. A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled this month that Hatch owes the US government over $3.29 million in unpaid federal income taxes and penalties related to his $1 million win on the first season of Survivor in 2000, reports the Providence Journal. The March 17 judgment allows the government to begin using federal debt-collection tools (including property liens) to go after what it says Hatch owes.

Hatch, 64, who represented himself in the civil case, filed notice that he will appeal to the US Court of Appeals. In a text message to the Journal, he said he's confident appellate judges will reach "a just outcome" and added, "I have spent 25 years trying to do the right thing, and I remain committed to resolving this matter fairly." Hatch's IRS trouble began soon after the reality show ended, when the agency said he failed to pay taxes on his earnings, per the Boston Herald. He was convicted of tax evasion in 2006, served 51 months in prison, and was ordered to file amended returns and pay what he owed for 2000 and 2001, obligations the government says he still has not met.