Feigen said in a statement this week that he was questioned by a detective later that day and gave a statement in which he left out parts about the swimmers urinating behind the building and Lochte pulling down a framed poster.
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The news station reported on Thursday: “If Lochte does not show up, he could be charged by the public prosecutor and convicted in Brazil”. Lochte initially said he and three swimming teammates were robbed after their taxi was pulled over by armed men posing as police.
Lochte had lost four major sponsors Monday, including Speedo USA and Ralph Lauren, over what happened in Rio. “If I had never done that, we wouldn’t be in this mess”.
Lochte had earlier issued a written apology that was widely ridiculed online as half-hearted.
In the later NBC interview, he also admitted he was still intoxicated when he gave his initial account of the incident, adding: “I let my team down”. Lochte, however, would not be able to engage in plea negotiations unless he’s in Brazil.
Friends also say that police have not been clear on whether the security guards – who were apparently off-duty officers – were authorized to carry and draw firearms; and that police did not release all available CCTV footage from the gas station.
They have made clear that he genuinely believed he was being robbed and have suggested that the disparity between the value of the damage and the amount of money he was asked to hand over by at least one armed security guard who had drawn his weapon meets the legal definition of robbery.
“There was no robbery of the kind reported by the athletes”, Veloso said.
Brazil had deployed 85,000 police and soldiers to secure the Games.
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Brazilian police said no such crime took place and that Lochte was responsible for an act of vandalism in a gas station while returning home drunk after a party.
