The Jacksonville Jaguars sued Amit Patel, the former team employee who stole $22 million from the franchise, for $66.6 million in damages in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Duval County (Fla.) Circuit Court.
Patel, a former employee in the team’s financial planning and analysis department, pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and an illegal monetary transaction in December 2023. He was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison in March in U.S. District Court.
Patel stole from the Jaguars over four years by creating fraudulent charges on the club’s virtual credit card and then covering his tracks by sending falsified files to the team’s accounting department. In their lawsuit, the Jaguars allege fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty and civil theft. The $66.6 million figure is triple the amount Patel stole from the team. A Florida statute allows plaintiffs to recover three times actual damages in civil theft cases.
In Patel’s criminal case, the government said he used the stolen money to buy a luxury vehicle, a condominium, a designer watch worth over $95,000 and over $200,000 on golf memorabilia, including over $47,000 for the putter Tiger Woods used to win the 1996 U.S. Amateur Championship. He also purchased cryptocurrency, splurged on luxury travel for himself and others and used the funds to retain a criminal defense lawyer.
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The Jaguars’ $22 million question: How did four years of theft go undetected?
Alex King, who represented Patel in the criminal case, previously told The Athletic that the vast majority of the $22 million he stole were gambling losses; Patel placed bets on football and daily fantasy sports with online gambling sites. According to the lawsuit filed by the Jaguars on Thursday, Patel’s fraud was discovered in February 2023 when he placed a sports bet in the state of Kansas, violating state law and NFL policy.
King told The Athletic he is not representing Patel in the civil lawsuit with the Jaguars. Duval County Circuit Court online records did not list an attorney for Patel as of Friday.
Patel said his fraud was fueled by his gambling addiction and that he chased losses until those losses “snowballed” beyond his control.
“I stand before you embarrassed, ashamed and disappointed by my actions,” Patel said during the sentencing hearing in March. “Due to my poor decisions, I ruined those opportunities.”
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(Photo: Perry Knotts / Getty Images)
