Lance Armstrong agrees to US$5 million settlement with U.S. government
The U.S. government was seeking US$100 in a false-claims lawsuit that claimed Armstrong defrauded the Postal Service
According to the Associated Press, Lance Armstrong has settled with the U.S. government. The American who lost his seven Tour de France titles and confessed to doping in 2013 agreed to pay the U.S. government US$5 million to settle the Flase Claims Act case which argued that by using performance-enhancing drugs, Armstrong defrauded the U.S. Postal Service.
As the whistleblower in the case, Floyd Landis is eligible to receive 25 per cent of the settlement according to ABC News. Landis will receive US$1.1 million out of the governments US$5 million while Amstrong will also be forced to pay US$1.65 million to cover Landis’ legal costs.
BREAKING: Cyclist Lance Armstrong agrees to $5 million settlement of government lawsuit that could have sought $100 million.
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 19, 2018
The federal government was suing Amstrong on behalf of the U.S. Postal Service and was seeking $100 million in damages alleging Armstrong defrauded the U.S. Postal Service during its sponsorship of his team in the 1990s and early 2000s. USPS paid US$32.3 million in sponsorship dollars to the cycling team between 2000 and 2004.
The government claimed that it would not have provided sponsorship dollars to the team if it had known the athletes were in violation of its sponsorship contract by using banned substances and blood transfusions to cheat in races. Under the False Claims Act, the federal government could have had the amount tripled with Armstrong on the hook for it all.
The settlement ends the years-long case which was set to go to trial in two weeks. Filed in 2010, the government joined the case in 2013 after the now-infamous Oprah confession.
“I’m glad to resolve this case and move forward with my life,” Armstrong said in a statement released by his legal team. “I am looking forward to devoting myself to the many great things in my life – my five kids, my wife, my podcast, several exciting writing and film projects, my work as a cancer survivor, and my passion for sports and competition. There is a lot to look forward to.”
