Lance Armstrong Accused of Defrauding U.S. in Complaint

[maddezmom]

Source: Bloomberg

Former champion cyclist Lance Armstrong defrauded the U.S. by using banned substances, the government said in a complaint filed under the False Claims Act that joins a lawsuit brought by his ex-teammate Floyd Landis.

The Justice Department, in the complaint filed today in federal court in Washington, brought six counts of false claims, fraud and unjust enrichment against Armstrong, his team manager Johan Bruyneel and team owner Tailwind Sports Corp. An additional breach of contract claim was brought against Tailwind.

The government, which told the court in February that it would join the Landis suit, alleges the U.S. paid about $40 million in false claims through the team’s contract with the U.S. Postal Service from 1998 through 2004. Tailwind used Postal Service sponsorship fees to pay Armstrong’s salary of $17.9 million during those years, according to the complaint. The U.S. is seeking triple damages.

“Throughout the term of the USPS’s sponsorship of the team, defendants made numerous false statements denying that the team had engaged in any prohibited practices,” the government alleges in the complaint.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-23/u-s-files-false-claims-complaint-against-lance-armstrong.html

[Blue_In_AK]

1. Good.

He's a jerk.

[harmonicon]

4. Why is he a jerk?

He was asked to do the impossible. When he seemed to do the impossible, everybody loved him. All of the top competitors were "cheating," but it was something needed to make them do what the audience wanted. I think it's basically the same as doping in baseball. It's clear that it's going on, and we reward it so long as we're able to convince ourselves with the very slimmest doubt that it's not going on, but once exposed we're supposed to be horrified. What's someone in that position supposed to do? They can't do both things at once.

I think it's time we stop paying athletes SO MUCH FUCKING MONEY, and also time we stop worshipping them as supermen, because we get pretty angry when we have to face the fact that they're just normal ol' people, with all of the physical, psychological, and emotional limitations and failings as everyone else.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. I don't disagree with your post

in a lot of respects, but what I don't like about him is the way he lied and lied and lied and bullied his fellow teammates. And, honestly, I was never a fan even before I knew he was doping. He just seems arrogant and obnoxious to me.


Ed. And I 100% agree with you about the money. There's no reason for athletes to be paid as much as they are.

[harmonicon]

7. I'm sure that all of these things have an effect on each other.

Maybe not only being a great athlete (which there is no question he is), but also being a great liar made him what we wanted, you know? When the lying (sometimes with a wink-wink, nudge-nudge) is supported with tens of millions of dollars for years, that must make it difficult to stop.

[groundloop]

9. He's a jerk because of how he bullied everyone around him

Bullied, lied, whatever it took to keep the coverup going.

[harmonicon]

11. That's what he was paid to do. (nt)

[Blue_Tires]

12. That's bullshit...

You may be able to excuse Armstrong with the "everybody else was doing it" cop-out, but at least "everybody else" came clean when exposed...Nothing excuses the careers he ruined, the employees he blackballed out of the sport, the threats, intimidation, and bunch of defamation lawsuits he has pending against former friends who tried to tell the truth....

[harmonicon]

13. I'm not saying it's excusable, but I don't think "everybody else" came clean either.

When you're paid to be a cult of personality, it's your job to maintain that cult of personality. I would guess that the vast majority of people involved in similar illegal activities didn't have that on them and will never face any negative consequences of their actions.

[calimary]

2. Holy cow - almost 18 million dollars. Sheesh...

[Javaman]

3. huh, how quickly they go after him...

not that he doesn't deserve it, but yet the wall street crooks still walk the streets free men and women.

[Ezlivin]

5. Kissinger comes to mind

And Rumsfield, Gonzales and Cheney. They defrauded the world.

[dawn frenzy adams]

8. Yes

Amen dear friend.

[Evasporque]

10. shhhh don't say such things about our overlords....

Lance is the whipping boy of the hour...we must lash out at him...

[tonekat]

14. I'm with you about the worship of athletes

And the ridiculous pay they receive, usually with a criminal record close behind.

If only the U.S. would appreciate teachers and scientists as much. Too busy watching reality TV I guess.