Armstrong could be forced to pay penalty
The lawsuit against Lance Armstrong was filed under the False Claims Act
Lance Armstrong could be forced to part with a large portion of his fortune after the United States Government joined a civil lawsuit against him to reclaim around US dollars 100million from the disgraced cyclist.
The US Department of Justice took the opportunity to join a whistle-blowing lawsuit filed by Armstrong's former team-mate, Floyd Landis, who alleges the Texan defrauded the US Government when it sponsored the United States Postal Service team.
The lawsuit was filed under the False Claims Act and provides for the recovery of three times the damages, plus penalties, and also includes the possibility of the whistle-blower sharing in any funds recovered. The USPS sponsorship was from 1999 to 2004, with US dollars 31m paid between 2001 and 2004 alone, the Department of Justice said.
Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel, his former team director, and the parent company of their cycling team, Tailwind Sports LLC and Tailwind Sports Corporation (Tailwind), are the subjects of the case. The formal complaint will be filed within 60 days.
Ronald C. Machen Jr, US Attorney for the District of Columbia, said: "Lance Armstrong and his cycling team took more than US Dollars 30million from the US Postal Service based on their contractual promise to play fair and abide by the rules - including the rules against doping.
"The Postal Service has now seen its sponsorship unfairly associated with what has been described as 'the most sophisticated, professionalised, and successful doping program that sport has ever seen'. This lawsuit is designed to help the Postal Service recoup the tens of millions of dollars it paid out to the Tailwind cycling team based on years of broken promises.
"In today's economic climate, the US Postal Service is simply not in a position to allow Lance Armstrong or any of the other defendants to walk away with the tens of millions of dollars they illegitimately procured."
After years of denials, Armstrong last month admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in each of his seven Tour de France wins. In a television interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong confessed after bowing to the weight of evidence compiled by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Talks between Armstrong, his representatives and the Department of Justice broke down ahead of the Government joining the lawsuit. In a statement Robert Luskin, counsel to Armstrong, said: "Lance and his representatives worked constructively over these last weeks with federal lawyers to resolve this case fairly.
"But those talks failed because we disagree about whether the Postal Service was damaged. The Postal Service's own studies show that the Service benefited tremendously from its sponsorship - benefits totalling more than US dollars 100million."
I watched a documentary on youtube about sports drug use,it was called "Bigger,Faster,Stronger",on it there was a segment about steroid use in Americas national sport Baseball,when the sports top hitters got outed as steroid users (top performers in every sport usually are 99% of the time),there was a Congessioanl/Government Enquiry in Capitol HIll,i mean,come on!!.....its just a bloody sport for christs sake!!,THEY FELT IT NECESSARY TO HOLD MEETINGS IN THE SAME CHAMBER AS THEY DO WHEN WARS BREAK OUT!
These idiots we have in power need to take a deep breath,take a step back and look AT THEMSELVES FIRST BEFORE THEY POINT THE FINGER AT ANYBODY ELSE,THESE ARE THE SAME BASTARDS THAT WILLINGLY GIVE FREE REIGN TO THE WALL STREET BANKERS TO COLLAPSE THEIR OWN ECONOMY AND RELEGATE MILLIONS OF HARD WORKING PEOPLE INTO POVERTY!
I HOPE YOU ALL CAN SEE THAT THIS SORT OF IDIOCY IS NOTHING BUT A SMOKESCREEN TO BLOT OUT ALL THE SHENANIGANS THEY GET UP TO.
THE SLIMY BASTARDS.
