Feds urge judge to allow Armstrong case to proceed

Justice Department lawyers urged a federal judge to allow the government’s fraud lawsuit against Lance Armstrong to continue, arguing the US Postal Service was tainted by its sponsorship of his team while he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France.

The Postal Service, which insists it didn’t know about a team drug regimen that was exposed last year by the US Anti-Doping Agency, is permanently linked to what the government lawyers called “the greatest fraud in the history of professional sports” in court records filed on Tuesday (HK time).

Former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis first sued Armstrong in 2010 under the False Claims Act, which allows whistle-blowers to get a share of any money recovered based on their disclosures.

 

The Justice Department joined the lawsuit in February, announcing it would seek at least the US$40 million the Postal Service paid to Armstrong’s team and additional damages that could push the total closer to US$120 million.

The government claims Armstrong violated his contract with the Postal Service and was “unjustly enriched” while cheating to win the Tour de France. Six of his seven titles came under Postal Service sponsorship.

Armstrong has urged the court to dismiss the case, arguing the government was aware of doping rumours surrounding his teams and could have canceled the contracts. Armstrong finally confessed in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey in January.

A federal judge has scheduled oral arguments for November 18 in Washington on whether to let the case proceed.