The U.S. government is
suing Lance Armstrong for $40 million.
The banned cyclist, 41, is
accused of violating his contract with his team and is said to have been
"unjustly enriched" while cheating to win the Tour de France.
That team? The U.S. Postal
Service, which "paid about $40 million to sponsor the USPS racing team
from 1998 to 2004," court documents said.
Armstrong
admitted to doping during all of his seven Tour wins.
The lawsuit also names
former U.S. Postal Service team director Johan Bruyneel and team management
company Tailwind Sports as co-defendants.
Lance ended years of
denial in a January interview with Oprah Winfrey in which he described doping as part of the process of
winning the Tour.
The U.S. government
announced in February it would join the 2010 lawsuit filed by ex-USPS rider
Floyd Landis, who himself admitted using drugs.
Tuesday was the deadline
for the DOJ to file its complaint.
According to the suit, the
USPS paid about $40 million
to be the title sponsor of Lance Armstrong's teams for six of his Tour de
France victories.
It added that Armstrong's
salary during that time, excluding bonuses, was $17.9 million - which the
government wants to recoup on top of sponsorship funds.
"Defendants were
unjustly enriched to the extent of the payments and other benefits they
received from the USPS, either directly or indirectly," the complaint
said.
The government also asked
for a jury trial.
