'Survivor' winner loses tax evasion appeal

The winner of the first series of US reality show Survivor has lost his appeal after being found guilty of tax evasion.

Richard Hatch was sentenced to more than four years in jail in May 2006 after failing to pay tax on his £500,000 prize money.

He claimed that the show's producers had promised to pay his income tax if he did not reveal that he had caught staff sneaking food to other contestants. CBS has denied that any cheating took place.

But the Boston-based Court of Appeals ruled that Hatch had not been able to back up his statements, despite being given several chances to talk about the alleged arrangement during the trial.

It said in a statement: "The failure of Hatch to present any evidence of such conversations when invited by the court strongly suggested that no actual promises were made, and no such 'deal' actually existed. It was not the court's right, much less duty, to put words in Hatch's mouth."

The 46-year-old's lawyer Michael Minns said trial judge Ernest Torres had told Hatch that he could not discuss the running of the show, although he could talk about any conversations relating to his tax. However, he did not do so in court.

Hatch is currently in prison in West Virginia and is scheduled for release in October 2009.