A former Jacksonville Jaguars employee, Amit Patel, is facing multiple allegations of stealing over $22 million from the franchise between 2019 and 2023 by exploiting the organization’s virtual credit card program.
Patel, who worked for the Jaguars for five years starting in 2018, allegedly used the embezzled funds to acquire two vehicles, a condominium, a designer watch valued at over $95,000, and chartered personal jets.
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“The Jaguars were not named in the federal filing – the organization was referred to as “Business A” – but the team confirmed it was the victim of Patel’s alleged crimes.”
“We can confirm that in February 2023, the team terminated the employment of the individual named in the filing,” the team said in a statement. “Over the past several months we have cooperated fully with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida during their investigation and thank them for their efforts in this case. 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. This individual had no access to confidential football strategy, personnel, or other football information. The team engaged experienced law and accounting firms to conduct a comprehensive independent review, which concluded that no other team employees were involved in or aware of his criminal activity.”
Additionally, he is accused of using the stolen money to buy cryptocurrency and place bets on online gambling sites. Patel has been formally charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of illegal monetary transactions, accused of embezzling a minimum of $22,221,454.40 from the Jaguars.
This incident is part of a recent series of challenges for the franchise, including injuries to key players like Trevor Lawrence and Christian Kirk.
The NFL season is always filled with plenty of surprises.
