The US Justice Department filed a formal complaint Tuesday against Lance Armstrong, saying the doping-disgraced cyclist and team owners defrauded the US Postal Service of sponsorship money. The government, which said in February that it would join a whistle-blower lawsuit brought by former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis in 2010, says the USPS spent about $40 million in sponsor money and gave Armstrong $17 million.

Disgraced US cyclist Lance Armstrong has purchased an Austin-area home just days after he sold his luxury Spanish-style estate he has lived in since 2006, it was reported Tuesday. The Austin American-Statesman described the home as being located in an exclusive sub-division. The newspaper did not reveal the purchase price but Austin real estate agents said it was valued at about $4.3 million. There was also no record of whether Armstrong took out a bank loan to pay for the house, the American-Statesman said.

By Karen Brooks AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Disgraced former cycling champion Lance Armstrong has sold his sprawling home in the hills of Austin, Texas, his spokesman said on Thursday. Spokesman Mark Higgins, who spoke to Reuters, said Armstrong would continue to call the city his home, but did not elaborate on where Armstrong would live in Austin or offer any details of the sale.

Disgraced US cyclist Lance Armstrong has been barred from entering a swim race in Texas following objections from the sport's global governing body, organizers confirmed on Thursday. Armstrong, 41, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France wins and banned for life before later confessing to drug-taking throughout his career, had hoped to compete in a US Masters Swimming event in Austin this weekend.