Former Jacksonville Jaguars Employee Accused of Stealing $22 Million From Team
Amit Patel was hit with two charges by federal authorities.
A former Jacksonville Jaguars employee is accused of stealing over $22 million from the team for over four years and using the money to live a luxurious lifestyle, according to federal authorities (per PEOPLE). Amit Patel was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of illegal monetary transaction by the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Middle District of Florida. According to The Athletic, Patel may be required to forfeit more than $22,221,454.40 in property, the amount of money he allegedly stole from the franchise.
Patel was in charge of the Jaguars' virtual credit card program (VCC) in 2019, which allegedly allowed him to duplicate charges and pocket the money from the fabricated transactions, according to ESPN. Patel's lawyer told The Athletic that Patel has a "serious gambling addiction" and intends to plead guilty to his two charges.
"Almost the entirety of the funds Mr. Patel used from the VCC was spent on the gambling websites and efforts to win money back, with the anticipation he would repay the funds with the winnings and make the Jaguars whole," Alex King said in a statement. "Unfortunately, Mr. Patel's compulsive gambling only exacerbated the situation, and he continued to misappropriate funds in an effort to have gambling winnings offset his significant losses."
King said 99 percent of the funds from the Jaguars' VCC program were gambling losses, with nearly all occurring from FanDuel and DraftKings. The NFL first contracted Patel in February when officials came to the Jaguars'team offices and told him they were investigating his activity. The Jaguars fired Patel after he met with NFL officials in February.
"We can confirm that in February 2023, the team terminated the employment of the individual named in the filing," the team's statement read. "Over the past several months we have cooperated fully with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida during their investigation and thank them for their efforts in this case. As was made clear in the charges, this individual was a former manager of financial planning and analysis who took advantage of his trusted position to covertly and intentionally commit significant fraudulent financial activity at the team's expense for personal benefit."