A former Jaguars employee, Amit Patel, pulled off the ultimate touchdown by stealing a whopping $22 million from the franchise. The plot twist? Patel’s play got intercepted, and now he’s been sentenced to 78 months in the penalty box—prison time! Talk about a game-changing move that left everyone scratching their heads. How did this underdog go from financial manager to mastermind thief?
Amit Patel orchestrated a cunning scheme to siphon off $22 million from the franchise. He used his position to manipulate financial records, concealing his illicit activities.
After being caught red-handed, Patel faced the consequences of his actions. The court sentenced him to 78 months in prison for his fraudulent behavior. This punishment serves as a stark reminder of the severity of white-collar crimes.
According to the Mail;
Amit Patel, a former financial manager for the Jaguars, pleaded guilty to stealing $22m through a virtual credit card system used for expenses in Jacksonville as part of a plea deal at a Florida court back in December.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida handed down the sentence on Tuesday.
He has also been ordered to pay more than $21 million in restitution and he will remain on supervised release for three years after serving his prison sentence.
The 31-year-old worked for the Jaguars organization from 2018 until February 2023, after betting site FanDuel alerted the NFL to his activity a month prior.
Federal court documents alleged that he siphoned the funds over a three-and-a-half-year period.
The Jaguars are understood to have had no knowledge of the embezzlement scheme or Patel’s gambling habit until they were notified by the NFL.
Patel was accused of using the stolen funds to buy two vehicles – a Tesla and Nissan pickup truck – a condominium in nearby Ponte Vedra Beach, a designer watch for $95,000 and cryptocurrency.
He also allegedly used the money to buy sports memorabilia, a country club membership, spa treatments and tickets to sporting events and concerts. And he chartered private jets for himself and friends and lodged a retainer with a criminal defense law firm.
It was also reported that he placed a series of big-money bets on online Gambling sites, FanDuel and DraftKings.
According to ESPN, he lost approximately $20m of the money on daily fantasy and sports bets on FanDuel, who are said to have assigned him a VIP host.
Patel is also believed to have lost $1m on rival betting site DraftKings.
Patel’s attorney, Alex King, said in a statement that his client suffers from addiction and that ‘approximately 99% of the funds misappropriated from the Jaguars’ VCC were gambling losses’. The lawyer also said his client is ‘deeply remorseful’ and is receiving treatment for his addiction.
ESPN reported at the end of last year that since 2017 Patel – playing under the name ParlayPicker – bet nearly $500,000 on fantasy tournaments across the NFL, Major League Baseball, PGA Tour and UFC.
He would play on FanDuel and DraftKings and Patel soon made a name for himself for heavy losses and rookie mistakes within gambling circles.
As his reputation for recklessness spread, other players would reportedly seek out games against him. One gambler believes ParlayPicker, might be ‘the biggest loser ever on FanDuel.’
‘He was legendarily bad,’ they said.
Fellow bettors told ESPN that they believe his biggest losses came via high-stakes games that he regularly entered – against elite opposition, with a buy-in of more than $24,000.
‘He came out of nowhere,’ one bettor told ESPN. ‘I remember having side conversations with some of my friends, who were like, “Who is this guy? And what is he doing?”‘
This is the case of Amit Patel, the ex-Jaguars staffer turned high-rolling thief! From his cunning schemes to the legal hammer coming down with a 78-month sentence, it’s been a wild ride. The financial fallout on the Jags and the broader implications for sports teams have left us all scratching our heads. But fear not, there’s hope! By beefing up security measures and rebuilding trust, sports organizations can stop these frauds.