U.S. Files Complaint Against Lance Armstrong Re: Fraud on USPS

The U.S. government filed its complaint against former cycling champion Lance Armstrong in Washington, D.C., Reuters reported yesterday.  Armstrong, now stripped of his seven Tour de France wins, is accused of defrauding his sponsor, the U.S. Postal Service, by taking millions of dollars in sponsorship money while at the same time engaging in prohibited substance and method use (“doping”).

The complaint alleges that the team, including Armstrong, “knowingly caused material violations of the sponsorship agreements by regularly and systematically employing banned substances and methods to enhance their performance…as a result, the Defendants submitted or caused to be submitted to the United States false or fraudulent invoices for payment.”  The complaint alleges that, “[T]he United States suffered damage in that it did not receive the value of services for which it bargained.”  The U.S. Postal Service paid $40 million to Armstrong and his teammates during their sponsorship.  Armstrong’s salary at that time, excluding bonuses, was $17.9 million.

Last summer, Armstrong ended his fight against years of doping allegations and was stripped of his Tour de France titles as well as his 2000 Olympic medal.  He has also been banned for life from professional cycling.  Earlier this year, Armstrong admitted to doping during a TV interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The allegations were originally made in a suit filed by Armstrong’s ex-teammate, Floyd Landis, under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act.  The False Claims Act allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud to sue on behalf of the government and share in the recovery.  If the government finds merit in the case, it may intervene, which it has done in this case.  Under the False Claims Act, the government may recover up to three times the amount of the loss attributable to fraud.

The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments.  We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who expose every kind of fraud against the government, including health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud.  Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.