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By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Lance Armstrong, who has been under investigation by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles for several months, could also face a probe by the Justice Department if it intervenes in a whistle-blower lawsuit filed against Armstrong in federal court earlier this year.
The lawsuit, which is under seal, was filed by former cyclist Floyd Landis, a source with knowledge of the suit said Friday night. Around the time Landis alleged to federal agents in May that Armstrong engaged in doping on his former U.S. Postal Service teams, he also filed the whistle-blower suit, the source said.
The lawsuit filed under the U.S. False Claims Act named Armstrong and a number of Armstrong's former business associates as defendants, the source said.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the lawsuit in its online edition Friday night. The newspaper said a U.S. Postal Service spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit because "this matter is under review by the Department of Justice."
Citizens are entitled to file claims that allege a fraud has been committed against the government, and the Justice Department may decide to prosecute the claims. If Landis's suit is the first such against Armstrong and his associates, he stands to receive a portion of any money the government recovers.
Armstrong has repeatedly denied doping, and one of his attorneys, Mark Fabiani, called Landis - who denied doping for four years before coming clean - "a serial liar, an epic cheater, and a swindler," adding in an e-mailed statement that "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."
The U.S. Postal Service paid more than $30 million to sponsor Armstrong's cycling team from 2001 to '04, the Journal reported. The payments went to a management company called Tailwind Sports.
A Justice Department attorney and U.S. Postal inspector last week independently requested documents from a 2005 arbitration that involved Armstrong, the Journal reported.