U.S. Mulls Joining Whistle-blower Lawsuit
The U.S. Justice Department is weighing whether to intervene in a federal whistle-blower lawsuit filed earlier this year by one of Lance Armstrong’s former cycling teammates, Floyd Landis, people familiar with the matter say.
Mr. Landis’s lawsuit was filed under the federal False Claims Act, these people say. The act allows citizens to sue on behalf of the government alleging the government has been defrauded.
The U.S. Postal Service, an independent federal agency, sponsored the team led by Mr. Armstrong for several years during which Mr. Landis has said some of its riders, including himself and Mr. Armstrong, cheated by using performance-enhancing drugs and practices.[…]
As a whistle-blower, Mr. Landis could collect 30% of any money the government recovers.
Mr. Armstrong’s spokesman said: “This news that Floyd Landis is in this for the money reconfirms everything we all knew about Landis.”
I’m going to add the VeloNews version of that last sentence, plus the paragraph they have after it:
“This news that Floyd Landis is in this for the money reconfirms everything we all knew about Landis,” Armstrong spokesman Mark Fabiani said Friday in a statement.“By his own admission, he is a serial liar, an epic cheater, and a swindler who raised and took almost a million dollars from his loyal fans based on his lies. What remains a complete mystery is why the government would devote a penny of the taxpayer’s money to help Floyd Landis further his vile, cheating ambitions. And all aimed directly at Lance Armstrong, a man who earned every victory and passed every test while working for cancer survivors all over the world.”