‘Survivor’ winner caught in a fib

The first “Survivor” winner recently was sentenced to more than four years in prison for failing to pay his taxes. Now another former winner has been found to have lied to get time off from his job as an Ohio state highway worker to join a promotional tour for the reality TV show in Europe last year.

Chris Daugherty, 35, who won the ninth season of the CBS show, filed a false claim saying he needed time off because he was under stress and suffering from depression, an Ohio Department of Transportation hearing officer ruled Thursday.

“Daugherty’s claim that he had an illness which just happened to coincide with his ‘Survivor’ tour is simply not credible,” wrote the department’s chief investigator, Les Reel. Daugherty, who was paid $8,000 for the promotional trip, could face penalties ranging from reprimand to dismissal.

Daugherty insisted Friday he had been suffering from stress and vowed to fight the ruling.