"According to four members of the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team (Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, Jimmy Feigen and Ryan Lochte), they left France House early Sunday morning in a taxi headed for the Olympic Village," USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky told NBC News in a statement. "Their taxi was stopped by individuals posing as armed police officers who demanded the athletes' money and other personal belongings. All four athletes are safe and cooperating with authorities."
"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. 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."
USA Today and Fox Sports Australia first reported news of the incident, citing Lochte's mother, Ileana Lochte, but International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said the reports were "absolutely not true." Adams later apologized and said he was relying on initial information from the USOC that was wrong.
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