Survivor alum Brandon Hantz could be facing up to 40 years in prison.
The 33-year-old, who competed on the show in 2011 and 2012, was among 14 people in an alleged biker gang indicted by a federal grand jury in Houston, Texas, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Hantz is allegedly a member of the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang and was charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering activity and arson related to an alleged turf war that began in 2019 between his and another rival biker gang.
The indictment describes the group as a “self-identified ‘outlaw’ motorcycle organization” that has roughly 3,500 members in the U.S. and abroad and has been engaged in “violent criminal activity in and around Houston.”
Hantz, who competed on Survivor: South Pacific and Survivor: Caramoan, faces up to 40 years in prison, as both arson and conspiracy to commit racketeering activity convictions would involve 20-year sentences, respectively.
Several of the other men indicted are set to make their first appearance in front of a judge on Thursday, Feb 20. It’s unclear whether Hantz will be among them.
In a statement, Antoinette T. Bacon from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said the indictment was an “important step in eliminating the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.”
“The Bandidos declare war on rivals—and they wage that war on our streets. Criminal behavior like this has no place in America, and the Department of Justice is fully committed to bringing peace back to our communities.”
During his time on Survivor, Hantz’s behavior was often erratic — and there was pressure on him as his uncle, Russell Hantz, was one of the show’s most notorious villains. After his dramatic exit from Caramoan, he told PEOPLE he didn’t “have mental problems” despite speculation.
“No one out there was in danger; I wasn’t going to hurt myself or anyone else. But if you get personal with me, I will push back.”
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He continued, “People say that it’s hard to watch, but I’m proud of myself and how I left the game. I don’t know why people want to assume that something’s wrong. I don’t have mental problems.”
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