After reports surfaced earlier today that a judge issued a search and seizure warrant for Ryan Lochte, the case has now taken a bizarre turn as the Olympic swimmer could now be facing three years of jail time for falsifying a crime.
On Wedesnday afternoon, the police in Brazil reported that there may not have been a robbery at all. A Brazilian judge ordered that Lochte and his fellow teammate Jimmy Feigen have their passports seized, but the athletes did not do so as they were already gone from the Olympic village when officers went to retrieve them. The Daily Mail is now reporting that when Lochte and Feigen went through X-ray scanners, the surveillance footage shows them having their wallets in possession.
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Both Lochte and Feigen are being investigating for falsely reporting a crime. In Brazil, the crimes carries a maximum punishment of a three year prison sentence.
Currently Lochte and Feigen have left Brazil and are likely back in the states. Feigen’s whereabouts are unknown at the moment, but Lochte is back home in Florida. The police first noticed the discrepancies after viewing the surveillance footage of when the swimmers were travelling home.
USOC chief of external affairs, Patrick Sandusky stated, “As part of our standard security protocol, we do not make athlete travel plans public and therefore cannot confirm the athletes’ current location. We will continue to cooperate with Brazilian authorities.”
The swimmers arrived to report the crime around 7 a.m., nearly three hours after the reported robbery took place. The other two swimmers with Lochte and Feigen were Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger. The four athletes were allegedly robbed after an evening partying at the French Hospitality house.
We will keep you posted as to any further updates with this strange saga between the U.S. Olympic swimmers and the Brazilian police.
To see the photos that raised suspicions, click here.
[H/T SEC Country]
