A former employee of the Jacksonville Jaguars who stole $22 million from the team was sentenced Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida to six and a half years in prison.
As reported by Sports Illustrated, 31-year-old Amit Patel, who worked for the Jaguars from 2018 to 2023, admitted to wire fraud and illegal money transactions in a December plea deal. While employed by the team, Patel made purchases on Jacksonville’s virtual credit card and covered them up in monthly tracking reports.
According to Patrick Andres of SI, citing a December report in The Athletic, Patel used the money “to buy vehicles, a condominium and a designer watch worth over $95,000 … he also purchased cryptocurrency, splurged on luxury travel for himself and others and used the funds to keep a criminal defense lawyer on retainer.”
Related: Former Jaguars Employee Accused of Stealing $22M From Team
Patel used a substantial amount of the stolen money to play daily fantasy sports games. ESPN reported in February that the Jaguars asked FanDuel to reimburse the team for “some or all of the $20 million” he spent on the platform, but FanDuel has been reluctant to comply.
As reported by Front Office Sports, in addition to his 78-month prison sentence, Patel must also pay the Jaguars $21.1 million in restitution and attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
