The former Jaguars office employee who was convicted of stealing more than $22 million from the team has been handed a prison sentence of more than six years in jail.
Amit Patel, 31, was sentenced to six years and six months in a federal prison by U.S. District Judge Henry L. Adams for spending money at gambling outlets by using a team credit card program between Sept. of 2019 and Feb. of 2023, Fox News reports.
“Amit Patel knowingly and wittingly created a deceptive scheme to fund a lavish lifestyle at his employer’s expense, and today’s sentencing is a warning to other scam artists: The FBI and our partners will continue to aggressively pursue corporate fraud investigations to protect consumers from bearing the costs associated with criminal activity,” Mark Dargis, acting special agent in charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division, said in a statement on Tuesday.
General view inside the stadium during the NFL match between the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on November 03, 2019 in London, England. (Jack Thomas/Getty Images)
Patel spent most of these millions on sports gambling and became notorious for the time period as one of the least-winning gamblers in the sports gambling sector. He lost so much to the online betting concern Fan Duel that the Jaguars went to the site and asked for the money back.
Sports gambling giant FanDuel, though, denied the request to return more than $20 million in funds the former employee gambled away on a constant stream of losing wagers.
FanDuel reportedly said they did not take the money from the employee in bad faith and had no reason to believe it was stolen money.
“The way [FanDuel] see[s] it … we got this money fair and clear,” a source said of FanDuel’s position, according to the New York Post. “It’s not our problem that we have to forfeit it back to you … I would be gobsmacked if it happened.”
But Patel did not just spend the money on his losing gambling addiction. Prosecutors also showed in court that he funded a lavish lifestyle for himself, as well.
Prosecutors say he also used some of the stolen money to charter private jets and purchased a private condominium in Ponte Vedra Beach; he bought sports memorabilia, cars, and spa treatments and used the money for other personal purchases.
Lerentee McCray #55 of the Jacksonville Jaguars leads his team out onto the pitch before the NFL match between the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on November 03, 2019, in London, England. (Jack Thomas/Getty Images)
Patel spent around $5 million on a “life of luxury” that included the purchase of Tiger Woods’ 1996 putter. He spent almost $600,000 at Apple stores and doled out more than $40,000 at Amazon and Best Buy combined.
In court, Patel claimed that his gambling started small but snowballed, and he could only hope that gambling more would help him pay back the losses.
“I stand before you embarrassed, ashamed, and disappointed for my actions,” Patel said at his sentencing hearing. “It began small and then snowballed so big that my only thought was to gamble my way out of it. In the end, I always thought that big win was right around the corner and would fix all my problems.”
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