Cyclist Lance Armstrong agreed to a $5 million settlement with the federal government on Thursday over a lawsuit charging that he defrauded the U.S. Postal Service, which sponsored his athletic team, by using performance-enhancing drugs en route to his record victories at the Tour de France, reports Politico. The agreement closed a drawn-out legal battle in which the federal government said the postal service was defrauded by millions of dollars. Armstrong was stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles in 2012 after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found that he used banned substances during his historic cycling streak in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
“No one is above the law,” said Chad Readler, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “A competitor who intentionally uses illegal PEDs not only deceives fellow competitors and fans, but also sponsors, who help make sporting competitions possible. This settlement demonstrates that those who cheat the government will be held accountable.” Armstrong admitted in 2013 to using banned substances during his victories at the cycling competition from 1999 to 2005 after years of publicly denying the allegations. He was sponsored by USPS for six of the seven years.