Lance Armstrong Sued Over Millions in Prize Money

UPDATED: Feb 8, 2013

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UPDATED: Feb 8, 2013Fact Checked

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Jeffrey Johnson

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Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

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UPDATED: Feb 8, 2013

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We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

UPDATED: Feb 8, 2013

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It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.

We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

UPDATED: Feb 8, 2013Fact Checked

Former cycling star Lance Armstrong, who recently admitted to having taken performance enhancing drugs, is being sued by a prize-insurance company for the $12 million paid to him for three of his seven Tour de France wins, reports The Wall Street Journal

The suit, filed in a state court in Dallas, Texas, was brought by SCA Promotions and claims that Armstrong and his agent, William Stapleton, conspired to commit fraud. The two defendants are also being accused of unjust enrichment and breach of contract. Prosecutors intend to show that by secretly using enhancement drugs, defendants attempted to defraud the prize insurance company into backing prizes that were won illegitimately.  

In addition to these charges, Armstrong faces penalties of perjury. In 2006, Armstrong was asked during arbitration and under oath whether drugs were used during his tours and denied allegations. Three weeks ago, the former pro cyclist told Oprah Winfrey during an interview that he in fact had been cheating. Just after, the titles he had won last year were taken from him and he was formally charged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for conspiracy to run organized doping endeavors, according to reports. 

Understanding Civil Fraud Charges

Fraud charges can be either criminal or civil – in this case, Lance Armstrong is facing civil fraud charges. In order to prove Armstrong’s guilt, the Plaintiff must prove the following elements: 1) that there was a misrepresentation of an important fact (that Armstrong took the enhancing drugs); 2) that he knew the information he was giving was false information that the victim relied on; and, 3) a victim suffered an actual loss or injury because of that reliance (the insurance company suffered a monetary loss). If convicted in civil court, Armstrong will be ordered to pay damages to the Plaintiff of $12 million, which is the amount SCA claims they insured of false winnings Armstrong acquired through fraud. 

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Jeffrey Johnson

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Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

Insurance Lawyer

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

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