The Jacksonville Jaguars are taking legal action against the former employee who stole millions from the team to fund a lavish lifestyle and gambling habit.
The Jaguars are suing Amit Patel, a former member of the organization’s financial department, in a Florida state court for using their virtual credit card to purchase expensive personal items, luxury trips and fund DFS entries on FanDuel and DraftKings.
Patel embezzled over $22 million by misusing the team’s VCC. In the suit filed in Duval County Circuit Court, the Jaguars accuse Patel of civil theft, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraudulent misrepresentation. The team is suing the Florida native for $66.7 million.
Active Florida law allows plaintiffs in successful suits to recover up to three times the actual damages included in the case for those seeking full compensation.
Jaguars suffer a big loss
Last December, Patel pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of engaging in an illegal monetary transaction after admitting to illegally using the team’s money and creating and falsifying team accounting records. Patel, who mainly attributed the fraud to a gambling addiction, committed the offenses between September 2019 and February 2023.
According to federal prosecutors, Patel used the team’s money to purchase a $47,113 putter used by legendary golfer Tiger Woods in 1996. He dished out more than $278,000 on hotels and travel, including $78,800 on private jet charters. Patel also spent $717,461 while using cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase and another $140,412 on eBay.
Court documents detail Patel transferring $20 million on FanDuel, where he was once considered “the biggest loser ever” by high-profile members of the DFS community, per an ESPN report.
As a result of his actions, Patel was sentenced in March to just over six years in prison and ordered to forfeit $22.2 million in cash and property. To date, the Jaguars have recovered just $261,232 following the sale of Patel’s condo in Ponte Vedra Beach. According to court-sanctioned release conditions, Patel is ordered to pay the Jaguars $250 a month as a repayment plan. He will also be under supervised release for three years after prison.
“I stand before you embarrassed, ashamed and disappointed by my actions,” said Patel during his sentencing hearing. “I can never truly convey how sorry I am to everyone affected by my actions.”
If the Jaguars are successful in their suit against Patel, the team will be able to directly seize assets purchased by Patel without having to go through the federal government.
