A former Jaguars employee lost $20 million in funds he stole from the franchise on sports bets. Now the Jaguars are asking FanDuel to reimburse that money, ESPN reported Friday.
Amit Patel, who worked for the team as a finance manager, pleaded guilty to stealing $22 million across four years via a virtual credit card system the Jaguars use for expenses. He reportedly lost about $20 million on daily fantasy sports and sports bets at FanDuel, as well as an additional $1 million on DraftKings.
Here’s what you need to know about Patel and the Jaguars’ pursuit of reimbursement.
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Jaguars ask FanDuel to return $20 million in stolen funds
The Jaguars are asking FanDuel to reimburse some or all of the $20 million in stolen funds wagered by the former employee, ESPN reported.
Patel played elite daily fantasy contests “with buy-ins upwards of $24,000,” ESPN reported. ESPN’s source called Patel’s account “the biggest loser ever on Fan Duel,” adding: “He was legendarily bad.”
Discussions between the Jaguars, the NFL and FanDuel are said to be ongoing as they try and reach a “settlement,” per ESPN’s unnamed source. The NFL and FanDuel declined to comment, while the Jaguars did not respond to ESPN’s request.
As for the legal precedent for the situation, ESPN noted: “Under federal law, FanDuel has an obligation to make sure funds used for sports betting were legally obtained, but the regulations are murkier for daily fantasy.”
Who is Amit Patel?
Patel is a former employee of the Jaguars who worked for the team as a midlevel finance manager. He joined the organization in 2018, then was fired in February 2023.
At the time of his dismissal, Patel held the role of manager, financial planning and analysis.
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What did Amit Patel do?
Patel was fired after the Jaguars discovered he had defrauded the organization’s virtual credit card (VCC) program to cover personal purchases.
The program was designed to allow certain employees to request company funds for business-related expenses. However, Patel used the program to cover personal expenses, according to a report from The Athletic. His purchases included:
Two vehiclesA condominiumA designer watch worth over $95,000Personal travel expensesTickets to various eventsSports memorabiliaNon-fungible tokens (NFTs)A country club membershipElectronicsHome furnishings
And that is excluding all of his gambling ventures.
Patel covered up the transactions by duplicating or inflating existing transactions and completely fabricating others.
He was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for stealing from the team, a federal judge ruled on March 12. Patel will be required to forfeit $22,221,454.40 in restitutions and he’ll be on supervised release for three years following his release.
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