A former Jacksonville Jaguars employee is accused of stealing $22 million from the NFL team.
According to documents filed in Jacksonville District Court, Amit Patel allegedly used his position as financial manager with the Jags to defraud the organization through its virtual credit card system between 2019 and 2023. The man had worked for the club since 2018.
“We can confirm that the team terminated the employment of the individual named in the filing in February 2023,” the Jaguars said in a statement. “Over the past few months, we have cooperated fully with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Florida in their investigation and thank them for their efforts in this matter.”
“As is clear from the charges, this individual was a former financial planning and analysis executive who exploited his position of trust to secretly and intentionally commit significant fraudulent financial activity at the expense of the team and for his personal benefit.”
“This individual did not have access to our football strategies, our personnel or any other football-related information. The team retained experienced law and accounting firms to conduct a comprehensive independent review, which concluded that no other members of the team were involved or aware of the criminal activity.”
Patel allegedly used the money he stole to steal two cars, a condo overlooking Ponte Vedra Beach, a $95,000 watch, cryptocurrency, sports memorabilia, a country club membership, spa treatments and concert tickets buy. He also treated his friends to several private jet flights.