Lance Armstrong loses $10 million in arbitration ruling
Lance Armstrong has lost a $10 million arbitration ruling in a fraud dispute with a promotions company, reports the Associated Press.
A three-person arbitration panel in Texas came to a 2-1 ruling in favor of SCA Promotions, a Dallas-based sports insurance company that paid Armstrong about $12 million in bonuses for winning seven Tour de France titles over his career. SCA accused Armstrong of fraud and filed suit in early 2013, and after the case went to arbitration, Armstrong unsuccessfully tried for an appeal with the Texas Supreme Court to have the case blocked, according to USA Today Sports.
Armstrong's attorney, Tim Herman, declined comment to the AP.
Armstrong sued SCA in 2004 for breach of contract when the company withheld his Tour de France bonus. The case went to arbitration in 2005, and SCA Promotions was forced to pay $7.5 million in 2006.
Armstrong, 43, was later banned for life by the United States Anti-Doping Agency and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles in August 2012. Evidence from the SCA arbitration dispute was used against him, including testimony from former teammate Frankie Andreau and his wife Betsy, who said they heard Armstrong admit to using performance-enhancing drugs in 1996.
Armstrong did not admit to taking banned drugs until a January 2013 televised interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Earlier this month, Armstrong was cited in a late-December hit-and-run of two parked cars. He reportedly let his girlfriend, Anna Hansen take the blame. Hansen later admitted she was lying to avoid drawing national attention to Armstrong, prompting police to issue the citation.
Armstrong is also facing a fraud lawsuit from the federal government that could cost him about $100 million.
- Mike Fiammetta
