USA Swimming is being investigated for allegedly hiding sexual abuse claims and participating in improper business practices that included “reaping hundreds of thousands of dollars in rebates from its in-house insurance company,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
The federal investigation is being conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Additionally, a federal grand jury in Manhattan is expected to look at the evidence that is found pertaining to the case.
An important question investigators are looking into is if USA swimmers felt pressure to hide alleged sexual abuse based on their standing on the various swimming teams.
“The system is designed to stop you from wanting to report,” a person familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal.
It’s unclear how many accusers may have been silenced or were encouraged to not report potential sexual abuse, but every one that comes forward in this case will be interviewed by an outside investigator. That investigator will then determine what kind of action needs to be taken against USA Swimming.
A “money trail” between USA Swimming and an insurance company is also being investigated. The USA Swimming Foundation went from having $5 million in 2008 to $18.3 million in 2017, which authorities believe is a suspiciously large increase for a nine-year period.
It is not yet known if this investigation will still be ongoing at the time of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics next summer or if the men’s and women’s national teams will be affected in any way.
CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc.
Images by Getty Images and US Presswire