Lance Armstrong ordered to pay $10m for doping fraud
Lance Armstrong is still struggling to apply the brakes to his fall from grace after being fined $10m (£6.5m) for lying about his use of performance enhancing drugs.
A three-man arbitration panel who came to a 2-1 ruling against the former cyclist in a fraud dispute decided Armstrong must make the payment to Dallas-based SCA promotions.
The written ruling found Armstrong guilty of enaging in “an unparalleled pageant of international perjury, fraud and conspiracy”. The payout is believed to be the largest award of sanctions assessed against an individual in American judicial history.
SCA Promotions paid Armstrong over $10m in bonuses for his seven Tour de France titles.
However, after the disgraced cyclist admitted to doping in all seven wins, SCA sued to get its money back.
Previous disputes in arbitration between Armstrong and SCA produced evidence of doping that would later be used against the Texan.
A statement from SCA promotions read:
Lance Armstrong was hit with a record-breaking $10m sanctions award by the arbitration panel hearing his dispute with Dallas-based SCA Promotions, Inc.According to the arbitrators' written ruling, the sanctions award punishes Armstrong for engaging in 'an unparalleled pageant of international perjury, fraud and conspiracy'.The $10m, which must be paid directly to SCA Promotions, is believed to be the largest award of sanctions assessed against an individual in American judicial history.The award was made public today when SCA Promotions filed a motion with a Dallas state district court to have the award confirmed into a judgement against Armstrong.