Olympic champion Eric Lamaze faked end-stage cancer to avoid ‘day of reckoning’ in court
AN OLYMPIC champion was found to have faked his own end-stage cancer in order to avoid a major court case “day of reckoning” against him.
Eric Lamaze, 55, is Canada’s most successful Olympic showjumper.
He won individual gold and team bronze at Beijing 2008 and added another bronze eight years later at the Rio 2016 Games.
Lamaze also secured Pan American Games gold in 2015 as well as a bronze at the 2010 World Equestrian Games.
The rider, who earned more than £800,000 in 2007 alone, missed the Olympics in Tokyo and retired in 2022 in order to focus on his health after initially being diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017 and going public with the news two years later.
But now it has been revealed he submitted fraudulent documents relating to his condition to delay a court hearing as part of a £400,000 lawsuit against him.
Lamaze is accused of selling three horses from his Torrey Pines Stables to Iron Horse Farm in 2010 that were not of the quality promised.
A long legal case has rumbled on for many years – but took another twist in July when Lamaze’s attorney Tim Danson applied for a delay in proceedings.
The document cited medical issues but there were no medical records attached, instead just photos of his disfigured face following brain surgery.
It was written in Dutch, with a mistake on the address of the Chirec Delta Hospital, and allegedly signed by neurosurgeon Dr Nordenyn Oulad Ben Taib – despite the doctor only having French, English and Arabic on his list of languages.
A further letter dated August 2 stated Lamaze’s brain cancer had spread to his throat and he had already undergone surgery but more was needed, including a craniotomy on the brain on August 11 which could take up to a year to recover from.
That letter was allegedly signed by Dr Benoit Pirotte at the same Chirec Delta Hospital in Belgium.
But a private detective hired by Iron Horse Farm in Belgium went to Dr Pirotte who denied signing the document and confirmed it was fraudulent.
Now Danson has resigned from the case representing Lamaze and on September 5 said: “Eric is very sick, but maybe not with cancer.”
Lamaze himself continues to insist he does have the disease – but confessed he “made a little mistake”.
Asked about evidence stacking up against him, he told The Toronto Star: “You’ll never find it because I did have cancer.
“Was I deceitful here and there to protect some doctors and protect this and that? Of course I was.”
But Justice Hurtz said: “Mr Lamaze attempted to perpetrate a fraud on the court by filing three forged letters, which falsely purport to be medical reports regarding Mr Lamaze’s dire medical condition.
“Mr Morse [Iron House’s lawyer] argues that if that fraud were not sufficiently egregious, Mr Lamaze feigned end-stage cancer, which is an insult to all who have suffered from that dreaded malady.
“He did so only to avoid a ‘day of reckoning’ in an action that was commenced more than ten years ago but has yet to reach trial.”
Lamaze has been ordered to pay £25,800 to cover the costs to Iron House Farm following the motion to adjourn in July.
He also needs to find a new lawyer by September 29 or else he would lose the case by default.