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TSN Legal Analyst

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Ryan Lochte isn’t going back to Brazil. While his story of being robbed at gunpoint in Rio, along with Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen, continues to fall apart, the U.S. will not return the swimmer to Brazil to face questions from authorities. He’s home in the U.S. and won’t be headed to Brazil any time soon.

The latest report has Lochte's teammates calling Lochte's story a fabrication. This is according to Brazilian authorities, but remains a developing story. 

From the very beginning, Lochte’s story had holes in it. This is what he initially told USA Today:

"We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing just a police badge and they pulled us over," Lochte said. "They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground -- they got down on the ground. I refused, I was like we didn't do anything wrong, so -- I'm not getting down on the ground.

"And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, 'Get down,' and I put my hands up, I was like 'whatever.' He took our money, he took my wallet -- he left my cell phone, he left my credentials."

A few things are odd about this statement, including the thieves pulling out their guns not once but twice. It also seems unusual that thieves would not take Lochte’s watch and cell phone. There is also surveillance video from later that night of Lochte going through security with what appears to be his wallet. As well, Lochte’s rather cavalier and cool response to being held at gunpoint also raises questions about the veracity of his story.

We also know that Brazilians authorities are alleging they have video footage of a “U.S. Swimmer” in a fight with security at a gas station the night of the alleged incident. This includes footage of a U.S. swimmer breaking down a gas station door and fighting with security.

Presumably, for Brazilian authorities this speaks to motive. Specifically, they may believe Lochte made up the robbery story to potentially deflect from the incident at the gas station. If that was Lochte's thinking it is of course deeply flawed as it has drawn attention to an altercation that may have never seen the light of the day.

Under Brazilian law, it is a criminal offence to file a false report. This is not an unusual, as many jurisdictions have it. The idea is that local authorities want to deter people from making false claims.

While it is a criminal offence, the U.S. will not extradite Lochte to Brazil. The U.S. and Brazil do have an Extradition Treaty, which provides that one country will surrender an alleged criminal to the other country. The Extradition Treaty lists the crimes that could result in that surrender and includes offences such as murder, larceny, sexual assault, arson and embezzlement. It does not, however, include filing a false police report.

Since the Extradition Treaty does not capture filing a false police report, Lochte is not going to be sent back to Brazil to answer for a possibly fabricated story.

As for Lochte's teammates left behind, unless they filed the false police report, they have not committed a crime. Based upon the available information, Lochte appears to the one that filed the false report (assuming Lochte's account is untrue).

It is possible that the teammates may face an obstructed justice charge, or otherwise interfering with an investigation, but that remains an open question. They do, however, seem to be cooperating and may ultimately evade prosecution.