Slippery former Jags employee, Amit Patel, gets locked up for swiping over twenty-two milly from the NFL team!
Court documents allege that Patel used the ill-gotten gains to indulge in online gambling, jet-setting adventures, lavish digs, and sports tickets for himself and buddies. He even splurged on an expensive Patek Philippe watch, footing the bill with the "profits from his devious scheme."
Accused of bank fraud and illegal currency transactions, Patel allegedly drained millions from the team's virtual credit card system (VCC) over a four-year period. The Jags confirmed to CNN Sports that they let go of Patel, stating, "We can confirm that the team terminated the employment of the individual listed in the document in February 2023."
The team added, announcing their cooperation with the FBI and Middle District of Florida US Attorney's Office, "As the court documents show, this individual was a former manager for financial planning and analysis who abused his position to secretly and knowingly engage in highly fraudulent financial activities to personally benefit at the expense of his team."
According to the documents, Patel wasn't privy to any confidential football strategies, player information, or other team secrets. The investigation determined that no other team members were involved in or aware of his alleged criminal activities.
Amit's attorney declined to comment on the situation.
Patel was the sole custodian of the VCC system, functioning similarly to a traditional credit card account without a physical card. In court documents, it's claimed that between September 2019 and February 2023, Patel hatched a cunning plan to steal money while staying under the radar.
To hide his illicit VCC transactions, court documents state, the accused would identify recurring legitimate VCC transactions (e.g., meals, flights, and hotel bills) and then exploited these by repeating them.
"By overestimating the amounts of legitimate recurring VCC transactions, he executed fictitious transactions that sounded plausible but never occurred, and he deleted legitimate VCC transactions from future months' records presented to accounting," the documents read.
Patel opted to forgo his right to a trial, and the case will proceed based on sworn testimony from the US Attorney's Office.
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*Source: edition.cnn.com
*Enrichment Data:
Amit Patel, a former financial manager for the Jacksonville Jaguars, was accused of stealing over $22 million from the team. The funds were allegedly used for personal expenses, including significant amounts spent on fantasy sports contests operated by FanDuel.[1][2][3] Patel's embezzlement scheme spanned several years, and he has since been sentenced to prison for his actions. He has also filed lawsuits against FanDuel and other entities, alleging that they facilitated and profited from his gambling addiction.[1][2]
[1] "Former Jaguars executive arrested for alleged multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme," Sporting News,
[2] "Amit Patel: Former Jaguars exec faces trial for alleged $22 million embezzlement scheme," CBS Sports,
[3] "Former Jacksonville Jaguars executive pleads guilty to embezzlement," FOX Sports,
