Doping: Armstrong, Landis and the US False Claims Act

Abstract

On 22 February, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) elected to intervene in a ‘whistleblower’ case brought under the False Claims Act by cyclist Floyd Landis. The suit alleges that as the US Postal Service team was sponsored by a governmental organisation, Lance Armstrong violated the team contract and defrauded the government through accepting sponsorship money whilst continuing to dope. John T. Holden and Ryan M. Rodenberg, of Florida State University, explain details of the Landis lawsuit and the amended suit following DoJ intervention.