Armstrong Case Shows Whistleblowers Are Key to Doping Fix: Constantine Cannon Lawyers Weigh In
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Last week, cyclist Lance Armstrong agreed to pay the United States $5 million to settle False Claims Act allegations surrounding his doping scandal, in which he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs while racing under a U.S. Postal Service sponsorship. The settlement resolved a lawsuit filed in 2010 by whistleblower Floyd Landis-who himself participated in the scheme as Armstrong’s teammate-alerting the government to Armstrong’s doping and the resulting fraud on the government.Constantine Cannon lawyers Phillip Brown and Hamsa Mahendranathan spoke to Deadspin and Law360, discussing the case’s implications for whistleblowers. “It really sends a strong message,” Brown told Law360. “A lot of whistleblowers come with complicated pasts. To be an insider, to know about fraud, you really have to be close to it and if you are close to it you might have got your hands dirty also. . . . But we see this as this as the government really rewarding him for his contributions to the case.” The case demonstrates what potential whistleblowers stand to gain from exposing fraud, Mahendranathan told Deadspin. Click here and here to read the full articles.
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