Judge denies Richard Hatch's "Survivor" reunion
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Convicted felon Richard Hatch, the winner of the first U.S. season of the reality TV show "Survivor", been denied permission to travel to Samoa to take part in a 10th anniversary special edition of the program, court documents on Monday showed.
Hatch, known as the "naked guy", was convicted of tax evasion in 2006 for failing to declare his $1 million prize from 2000. After serving about three years of his 51-month sentence in federal prison, he is now under home confinement in Newport, Rhode Island.
Hatch had asked the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island for permission to travel to Samoa for seven weeks next month to take part in a "Survivor" anniversary edition.
He said in a court filing that he would use any payment to pay off his outstanding taxes and said he would not be a flight risk.
But Judge William Smith on Friday denied the request, according to court documents made available on Monday.
Hatch, a former corporate trainer, is the best-known and one of the most polarizing winners of the reality show which puts a group of strangers in a remote location until they are voted off by fellow contestants.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant)
