Armstrong in October 2012. (Getty Images/Tom Pennington)
The federal government joined a civil lawsuit against Lance Armstong, alleging that the cyclist and the company that owns the Tour de France team for which he competed defrauded the United States Postal Service.
The Justice Department signed onto a suit filed in 2011 by Floyd Landis, a former teammate of Armstrong’s who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title after it was discovered that he cheated. Armstrong’s team, owned by Tailwind Sports LLC, was sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service between 1997 and 2004. The suit alleges that because of the Postal Service’s sponsorship, Armstrong and Tailwind defrauded the government of more than $30 million.
Armstrong, who was stripped last year of the seven consecutive Tours de France that he won between 1999 and 2005, admitted last month in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing methods to gain a competitive edge during his career. In its filing today, the government argues that Tailwind’s contract with the Postal Service required its cyclists—such as Armstrong—to abide by their sport’s rules banning performance-enhancing substances.
“Lance Armstrong and his cycling team took more than $30 million from the U.S. Postal Service based on their contractual promise to play fair and abide by the rules—including the rules against doping,” Ron Machen, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a news release. “The Postal Service has now seen its sponsorship unfairly associated with what has been described as ‘the most sophisticated, professionalized, 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.”
Machen added that given the Postal Service’s tenuous financial situation, recouping $30 million could be very useful right now.
The government’s suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
