FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2011 file photo, Lance Armstrong pauses during an interview in Austin, Texas. The Justice Department laid out its case in a lawsuit against Lance Armstrong on Tuesday, Apriil 23,... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2011 file photo, Lance Armstrong pauses during an interview in Austin, Texas. The Justice Department laid out its case in a lawsuit against Lance Armstrong on Tuesday, Apriil 23,... (Associated Press) 
 
 The federal government is going after Lance Armstrong's money. As much as it can get. 
 
 The Justice Department unveiled its formal complaint against Armstrong on Tuesday, saying the cyclist violated his contract with the U.S. Postal Service and was "unjustly enriched" while cheating to win the Tour de France. 
 
 The government had previously announced it would join a whistle-blower lawsuit brought by former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis under the federal False Claims Act. Tuesday was the deadline to file its formal complaint. 
 
 The Postal Service paid about $40 million to be the title sponsor of Armstrong's teams for six of his seven Tour de France victories. The filing in U.S. district court in Washington, D.C., says the USPS paid Armstrong $17 million from 1998-2004. 
 
 The lawsuit also names former team Armstrong team director Johan Bruyneel and team management company Tailwind Sports as defendants. 
 
 "Defendants were unjustly enriched to the extent of the payments and other benefits they received from the USPS, either directly or indirectly," the complaint said. 
 
 The financial costs for Armstrong and Bruyneel could be high. The government said it would seek triple damages assessed by the jury. Armstrong has been dropped by his personal sponsors and left the cancer-fighting foundation he started in 1997. 
 
 Armstrong had previously tried to negotiate a settlement, but those talks fell through before the government announced it would join the Landis lawsuit. Settlement talks could resume as the case proceeds to trial. 
 
 Armstrong, who in January admitted using performance-enhancing drugs after years of denials, has argued that the Postal Service's endorsement of his team earned the government agency far more than it paid him. 
 
 Armstrong attorney Elliot Peters called the government's complaint "opportunistic" and "insincere." 
 
 "The U.S. Postal Service benefited tremendously from its sponsorship of the cycling team. Its own studies repeatedly and conclusively prove this," Peters said. "The USPS was never the victim of fraud. Lance Armstrong rode his heart out for the USPS team, and gave the brand tremendous exposure during the sponsorship years." 
 
 The government must prove not only that the Postal Service was defrauded, but that it was damaged somehow. 
 
 Previous studies done for the Postal Service concluded the agency reaped at least $139 million in worldwide brand exposure in four years _ $35 million to $40 million for sponsoring the Armstrong team in 2001; $38 million to $42 million in 2002; $31 million in 2003; and $34.6 million in 2004. 
 
 Landis attorney Paul Scott dismissed the idea that money gained by the Postal Service should negate the claims of fraud. Scott the Postal Service is tainted by the drug scandal. 
 
 "Even if the USPS received some ephemeral media exposure in connection with Mr. Armstrong's false victories, any illusory benefit from those times will be swamped over time immemorial by the USPS forever being tied to the largest doping scandal in the history of sports," Scott said. 
 
 The formal complaint against Armstrong appears to rely heavily on evidence and statements supplied by Landis and gathered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for its 2012 investigation that exposed a doping program on the USPS team. Armstrong has been banned from sports for life and stripped of his seven Tour de France victories. 
 
 As Armstrong's teammate, Landis participated in the doping program. He was later stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title won with another team because of his own doping violations. 
 
 Bruyneel, who lives in London, also has been charged by USADA with doping violations but is fighting that case in arbitration. 
 
 The government notes the contract with the Postal Service required riders to follow the rules of cycling, which included bans on performance-enhancing drugs and methods. Armstrong now admits using steroids, blood boosters and other illegal performance-enhancing drugs and measures to win. 
 
 By breaking the rules and covering it up, Armstrong and Bruyneel committed fraud against the U.S. government, the complaint said. 
 
 The complaint said that for years, team officials assured the Postal Service that the team wasn't doping. 
 
 Armstrong had been the target of a federal criminal grand jury, but that case was closed without charges in February 2012. Armstrong has previously tried to settle the Landis whistleblower lawsuit, but those talks broke down before the government announced its intention to join the case. 
 
 Armstrong also is fighting a lawsuit from Dallas-based promotions company SCA to recover about $12 million it paid him in bonuses, and a lawsuit from the London-based Sunday Times, which wants to get back $500,000 it paid him to settle a libel case. ||||| Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – After denying the allegations for years, cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. As a result, he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and an Olympic bronze medal. Click through the gallery for a look at his life and career. Hide Caption 1 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong, 17, competes in the Jeep Triathlon Grand Prix in 1988. He became a professional triathlete at age 16 and joined the U.S. National Cycling Team two years later. Hide Caption 2 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong wins the 18th stage of the Tour de France in 1995. He finished the race for the first time that year, ending in 36th place. Hide Caption 3 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong rides at the Ikon Ride for the Roses to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation in May 1998. He established the foundation to benefit cancer research after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996. After treatment, he was declared cancer-free in February 1997. Hide Caption 4 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong leads his teammates during the final stage of the 1999 Tour de France. Hide Caption 5 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong takes his honor lap on the Champs-Élysées in Paris after winning the Tour de France for the first time in 1999. Hide Caption 6 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – After winning the 2000 Tour de France, Armstrong holds his son Luke on his shoulders. Hide Caption 7 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong rides during the 18th stage of the 2001 Tour de France. He won the tour that year for the third consecutive time. Hide Caption 8 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong celebrates winning the 10th stage of the Tour de France in 2001. Hide Caption 9 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – After winning the 2001 Tour de France, Armstrong presents President George W. Bush with a U.S. Postal Service yellow jersey and a replica of the bike he used to win the race. Hide Caption 10 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong celebrates on the podium after winning the Tour de France by 61 seconds in 2003. Hide Caption 11 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Jay Leno interviews Armstrong on "The Tonight Show" in 2003. Hide Caption 12 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – After his sixth consecutive Tour de France win, Armstrong attends a celebration in his honor in front of the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Hide Caption 13 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong arrives at the 2005 American Music Awards in Los Angeles with then-fiancee Sheryl Crow. The couple never made it down the aisle, splitting up the following year. Hide Caption 14 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong holds up a paper displaying the number seven at the start of the Tour de France in 2005. He went on to win his seventh consecutive Tour de France. Hide Caption 15 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong testifies during a Senate hearing in 2008 on Capitol Hill. The hearing focused on finding a cure for cancer in the 21st century. Hide Caption 16 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – In 2009, Armstrong suffered a broken collarbone after falling during a race in Spain. Hide Caption 17 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Young Armstrong fans write messages on the ground ahead of the 2009 Tour de France. He came in third place that year. Hide Caption 18 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong launches the three-day Livestrong Global Cancer Summit in 2009 in Dublin, Ireland. The event was organized by his foundation. Hide Caption 19 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – In May 2010, Armstrong crashes during the Amgen Tour of California. That same day, he denied allegations of doping made by former teammate Floyd Landis. Hide Caption 20 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong looks back as he rides during the 2010 Tour de France. Hide Caption 21 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong's son Luke; his twin daughters, Isabelle and Grace; and his 1-year-old son, Max, stand outside the Radio Shack team bus on a rest day during the 2010 Tour de France. Hide Caption 22 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong finished 23rd in the 2010 Tour de France. He announced his retirement from the world of professional cycling in February 2011. He said he wanted to devote more time to his family and the fight against cancer. Hide Caption 23 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – The frame of Armstrong's bike is engraved with the names of his four children at the time and the Spanish word for five, "cinco." His fifth child, Olivia, was born in October 2010. Hide Caption 24 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong competes in the 70.3 Ironman Triathlon in Panama City, Florida, in February 2012. He went on to claim two Half Ironman triathlon titles by June of that year. Hide Caption 25 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong addresses participants at the Livestrong Challenge Ride on October 21, 2012, days after he stepped down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer charity. Hide Caption 26 of 28 
 
 Photos: Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – International Cycling Union President Pat McQuaid announces the decision to strip Armstrong of his seven Tour de France wins and ban him from the tournament for life on October 22, 2012. "Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling," he said. Hide Caption 27 of 28
– All that money the US Postal Service spent to sponsor Lance Armstrong's cycling team? The Justice Department wants it back, and more. It filed a lawsuit against the cyclist and his company last night, just as its deadline to do so was about to expire. Armstrong's doping was, the lawsuit claims, a breach of contract with the USPS, and by lying about it to the USPS, he defrauded the agency and was "unjustly enriched." From 1998 to 2004, the USPS sponsored the team to the tune of about $40 million—and the government is seeking triple damages under the False Claims Act. CNN reports that could translate into a $100 million payout, should the government be able to prove it was both defrauded and damaged. The government's lawsuit is part of a whistleblower lawsuit brought by former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis, which the government had previously promised to join, the AP reports. The response from Armstrong's lawyer: "The US Postal Service benefited tremendously from its sponsorship of the cycling team. Its own studies repeatedly and conclusively prove this. The USPS was never the victim of fraud. Lance Armstrong rode his heart out for the USPS team, and gave the brand tremendous exposure during the sponsorship years."