Former Jaguars Employee Accused Of Stealing $22 Million From Team, Was Thinking Ahead By Spending Some Of The Cash On A Criminal Defense Attorney
A former Jacksonville Jaguars employee by the name of Amit Patel has been accused of stealing from the organization. Mr. Patel isn't accused of stealing food from the break room or cutting some small corners on the books, no, he's alleged to have stolen $22 million from the NFL team.
According to court documents filed in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, FL earlier this week obtained by The Athletic, Patel allegedly racked up his millions while working for the team from 2019 to 2023 and exploiting the organization's virtual credit card program.
The court filing states that he hid transactions by identifying “reoccurring VCC transactions, such as catering, airfare, and hotel charges, and then duplicated those transactions; he inflated the amounts of legitimate reoccurring transactions; he entered completely fictitious transactions that might sound plausible, but that never actually occurred.”
The Jaguars were not specifically named in the filing, but the team later confirmed that it was "Business A" in the court documents. Patel had various titles during his tenure with the Jags before being fired in February 2023 including coordinator of financial planning and analysis and then manager of financial planning and analysis.
A former Jaguars employee allegedly stole over $22 million from the organization. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
Hilariously, the Jaguars' statement was sure to include the fact that Patel did not have access to the team's strategy or playbook. He may have stolen $22 million, but thank goodness he didn't have the team's game plan.
"As was made clear in the charges, this individual was a former manager of financial planning and analysis who took advantage of his trusted position to covertly and intentionally commit significant fraudulent financial activity at the team’s expense for personal benefit," the team statement read in part. "This individual had no access to confidential football strategy, personnel or other football information."
Patel Used Alleged Stolen Funds On Many Things, Including A Lawyer
As for what Patel used the alleged stolen money on, he didn't go entirely overboard but did manage to have plenty of fun.
According to the court filing, Patel used the proceeds of his scheme "in whole or part" on online gambling, a condo in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, chartering private jets for he and his friends, a Tesla Model 3, a Nissan truck, a country club membership, a watch worth $95,000, and some crypto, of course.
Speaking of the Tesla, Patel may or may not have been killing some time as an Uber driver in the Jacksonville area. Chris Chaney of SwingU grabbed an Uber in Ponte Vedra over the weekend and was picked up by an Amit driving a Tesla.
Patel also used funds to lodge a retainer with a criminal defense law firm, which is the definition of thinking ahead.
He has been charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of illegal monetary transaction. If convicted, Patel could be required to forfeit property “in the amount of at least $22,221,454.40, which represents the proceeds of the offense”
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