As a whistleblower attorney, I am used to reading about cases where the settlement amount—sometimes an eight digit number—is the what is noteworthy about the case. Today’s settlement of the Lance Armstrong doping fraud case is not huge—he has to pay a $5 million dollar settlement—but his larger than life profile makes for a great False Claims Act example. Under the False Claims Act, the government can attain treble damages against the person or corporation committing fraud in the pursuit of a government contract, meaning the penalty is three times the fraud itself. A whistleblower, the person who alerts the government to the fraud under the False Claims Act, is entitle to 15% to 30% of the government’s recovery. Given that government contracts are frequently many millions of dollars, the rewards for whistleblowers can be sizable.
How Did Lance Armstrong’s Actions Violate the False Claims Act?
Fraud can take several forms. The form at issue in the Lance Armstrong case involved qualification to contract with the government. Many types of government contracts require that the contractor has certain qualifications and certifications. In some contracts, the contractor must meet certain demographic qualifications such as being minority or woman owned. Here, Lance Armstrong defrauded the government by indicating that he was not taking performance enhancing drugs when the government—the U.S. Post Office—contracted to sponsor his team . In essence, he was just like any other fraudulent contractor who promises the government a certain product, here drug free cycling victories, and actually provides something of less value.
The whistleblower in this case, Armstrong’s teammate Floyd Landis, exposed Armstrong’s cheating. As a result, he receives $1.1 million of the $5 million dollars that the government recovered, along with $1.67 million dollars in legal fees.
Because this settlement under the False Claims Act is so newsworthy, I thought I’d provide the following National Public Radio article that describes it in a bit more depth. The entire article can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.
Lance Armstrong To Pay U.S. Government $5 Million To Settle Fraud Claims
Lance Armstrong has agreed to pay the federal government $5 million to settle fraud allegations that could have resulted in a nearly $100 million penalty. The U.S. Postal Service, which had sponsored the disgraced cyclist’s team, argued that Armstrong defrauded taxpayers by accepting millions from the government agency while using performance-enhancing drugs during competition.
“A competitor who intentionally uses illegal PEDs not only deceives fellow competitors and fans, but also sponsors, who help make sporting competitions possible,” Chad Reader, acting attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil division, said in a statement. “This settlement demonstrates that those who cheat the government will be held accountable.”
During his time cycling, Armstrong famously won a record seven consecutive Tour de France titles after recovering from testicular cancer, six of which he won as a member of the USPS-sponsored team.
But he was dogged by suspicions of doping throughout his career — including from his former teammate, Floyd Landis, who sued him in 2010 under the False Claims Act. As Reuters explains, the federal law “lets whistle-blowers pursue fraud cases on behalf of the government, and obtain rewards if successful.”
What Should You Do if You are Considering a Whistleblower Claim?
Do you have knowledge of fraud or other serious financial misconduct occurring in the context of government contracting? Are you considering filing a whistleblower case? To protect your career and family and to attain your compensation, you will require the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney. Because whistleblower programs receive thousands of tips each year, they can only act on a small percentage. If you are going to risk your career, you want to make your work count.
Call Barrett Law now at (800) 707-9577 if you think you may be a whistleblower.
Having expert legal advice by your side can mean the difference between receiving your share of a whistleblower judgement and losing your career and livelihood. Call us today.
Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/19/604125474/lance-armstrong-to-pay-u-s-government-5-million-to-settle-fraud-claims
