USA swimmer Ryan Lochte has been charged with making a false statement to police after falsely claiming he had been robbed at gunpoint in Rio.
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The story began when Mr Lochte said he and three fellow swimmers had been robbed at gunpoint in a taxi by men with a police badge as they returned to the Olympic village from a party.
The department’s chief has requested a letter be sent to Lochte communicating the legal process related to the charges, according to the statement. His account was brought into question, however, after a security video emerged of the four swimmers interacting with security guards after vandalizing a gas station bathroom. Some presented the incident as childishness of fraternity, but Lochte is 32 years old and the Brazilian authorities want to judge him as an adult, as well as an ethics commission of the International Olympic Committee. According to their report, two gas station security guards were the ones who pointed their gun at the swimmers, demanding monetary payment for the damages. Lochte will be summoned to Rio, but he can send a lawyer to appear in court for him.
Lochte, who was the first of the swimmers to go public with the story of being robbed at gunpoint, took to Instagram on Friday morning to issue an apology. Feigen donated roughly $11,000 to a Brazilian charity to avoid prosecution. He has 12 Olympic medals, second only to Michael Phelps among United States male Olympians.
Meanwhile, Lochte’s attorney Jeffrey Ostrow said his client has not yet received any official information about the charge from Rio police.
Under Brazilian law, the penalty for falsely filing a crime report is a maximum of 18 months in prison.
Meanwhile, after losing his four major sponsors this week, Lochte has picked up a new one for Pine Bros.
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After a scandal at the Rio Olympics cost USA swimmer Ryan Lochte all four of his brand sponsors, Lochte is back with a new endorsement deal with cough drop maker Pine Bros.
