Ryan Lochte's robbery story is getting messier as Rio police are now reportedly doubting his claims
Ryan Lochte may be in hot water after police in Rio de Janeiro have said that they cannot find any evidence that Lochte and three of his USA Swimming teammates were robbed at gunpoint, according an Associated Press report.
According to a second report in the Brazilian publication Globo.com, Rio Police have issued an order to seize the passports of Lochte and fellow American swimmers Jimmy Feigen, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger. The foursome claim that they were robbed at gunpoint by men dressed as police officers after attending a party in Rio.
The Globo report says that the swimmers are now being investigated for allegedly filing a false report.
From a Google Translate version of the Globo report:
Police say that the line of investigation can pass theft to false reporting of crime. Therefore, the determination of Justice to seize the passports of the quartet.
TMZ.com spoke with Lochte's coach and is reporting that Lochte has already returned to the U.S. suggesting the order may have come to late to stop him from leaving Brazil.
According to the AP report, police started to question the claim when the swimmers failed to initially report the crime and "were unable to provide key details in police interviews."
The Globo.com report also cited a video from the Olympic village obtained by the UK Daily Mail which showed the four swimmers returning to the housing complex early in the morning and seemingly in a playful mood. From the Google Translate version of the report:
"According to people familiar with the investigation, a video released on Tuesday (16) by the British newspaper "Daily Mail" has increased the contradictions on the record - as the number of assailants and the fact that the phone has not been taken."
Despite the order to seize the passports and the suggestion that the swimmers are now being investigated for making a false report, the Associated Press report says the police are still "treating the swimmers as victims."