The US government fired back at Lance Armstrong in a federal court filing after the doping-disgraced American cyclist had asked for the dismissal of a civil fraud lawsuit against him.
Armstrong, who admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs to win the seven Tour de France titles that were stripped from him, had argued that the government, including his former team sponsor the US Postal Service, should have known he was doping all along despite his lies denying it.
Armstrong also argued in a July request to dismiss that the US Postal Service received the benefits attached to his victories for its $US40 million ($A42.66 million) sponsorship from 1998-2004, but the filings Monday in response to Armstrong’s claims challenged those assertions.
“The government did not get a winner,” the government filing declared. “On the contrary, it got a fraud and all of the publicity and exposure that goes along with having sponsored a fraud. That is decidedly not what the government bargained for.
“The United States should have an opportunity to recover damages for the money that it paid in reliance on Armstrong’s many lies.”
Armstrong, who confessed his doping last January in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, pulled off “arguably the greatest fraud in the history of professional sports,” according to the government filing.
“Now that he is being called to account for the damage he caused, Armstrong contends that his deceit should have been clear to everyone all along… But the Postal Service, like millions of others, cannot be faulted for having been deceived by Armstrong.”
The original case against Armstrong was brought in 2010 by former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis, himself a disgraced US rider who was stripped of a Tour de France title and later admitted doping.
Under whistle-blower laws, Landis would receive a portion of the damages if the government, which joined his case in February, is successful.
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With potential triple damages to be recovered under the False Claims Act, Armstrong could be hit for $US120 million ($A127.98 million) if he loses the case.
The government also contended that statute of limitations issues were not in play since violations could have taken place within 10 years before the original Landis filing.
Five fraud lawsuits were filed against Armstrong, including one by Acceptance Insurance Company seeking $US3 million ($A3.2 million) in bonus money paid for Armstrong’s Tour wins from 1999-2001.
The South Australian Government, which paid millions for Armstrong’s appearance in Tour Down Under races, maintains its position that it will not seek a refund.
“Lance Armstrong was contracted to come and ride in the Tour Down Under, to promote the Tour Down Under, to lift media coverage of the Tour Down Under, to increase visitor numbers, and that was achieved,” Sports Minister Leon Bignell said earlier this year.
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