Rio 2016: Australian athletes charged, caught with fake accreditation

Nine Australian athletes arrested for using false accreditation documents were charged by the Rio de Janeiro State Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio de Janeiro. They were caught trying to enter an Australia vs Serbia basketball game at Arena 3 on Friday evening (Aug. 19) with fake Rio 2016 accreditation.

A total ten accreditation cards were seized, nine of which were found to have been tampered with.

Ashlee Ankudinoff, Edward Jenkins, Fiona Albert, Olympia Aldersey, Lucy Stephan, Melissa Hoskins, Alec Pott, Ryan Tyack, and Simon Orchard used accreditation with stickers to gain access to a seating area reserved for basketball athletes. When the fraud was discovered, Brazil's National Security Force sent them to a police station.

According to the prosecutors, athletes were temporary released after the charges were filed. They had their ports retained and cannot leave the country until they pay a $3,100 fine each. They are also banned from attending Olympic arenas other than to compete.

In a statement, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) apologized to the athletes and denied they have any responsibility for the problem. The AOC said it is going to hold an internal investigation into the incident and promised to pay the fines and provide assistance to the athletes and their families.

Translated by Mayra Borges