Federal court upholds Hatch's conviction

BOSTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Richard Hatch, who earned notoriety on the TV series "Survivor," has had his tax evasion conviction upheld by the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Boston.

The champion of the first season of the popular CBS series had been attempting to convince the federal appellate court to reduce the prison sentence he received after being convicted of not paying taxes on his "Survivor" winnings, The Providence (R.I.) Journal said Saturday.

A federal court in Providence in 2006 found that Hatch had filed false tax returns in order to avoid paying taxes on nearly $1.4 million, which included the reality series' $1 million top prize.

The 46-year-old is serving a 51-month prison sentence for that conviction and had been hoping to have his conviction overturned Friday, the Journal said.

Hatch's attorney argued that "Survivor" executives told his client he would not have to pay anything on his winnings, leading Hatch to believe CBS would pay any required taxes.

Yet the court dismissed such arguments and upheld Hatch's conviction, meaning the "Survivor" champion will have to continue serving his prison term.