Ex-Jags employee gambled with company card at a former job

Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff WriterMar 8, 2024, 01:22 PM ET
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Amit Patel, the former Jacksonville Jaguars employee who stole $22 million from the team, said in a court filing Thursday that he used a company credit card to gamble at a previous job.

In a sentencing memo filed by Patel’s attorney, Alex King, Patel disclosed that while working at Deloitte in 2017, he used a company American Express card to incur gambling debts but paid back the money with the help of his older brother before he was detected by taking out a $16,000 debt consolidation loan.

The fact that Patel, 31, voluntarily admitted to that behavior is one of the mitigating circumstances that King says warrants U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams Jr. to consider a significantly lighter sentence than the seven years that federal prosecutors recommended. King proposed punishments ranging from probation to one year in prison for the two felony charges of wire fraud and illegal monetary transaction.

King and a spokesperson from the U.S. Attorney’s office declined comment to ESPN on Friday.

King’s filing also cited multiple instances of childhood trauma, substance abuse and gambling addiction as mitigating circumstances for Patel’s behavior. It says Patel started gambling online in high school and used his mother’s credit card to play at casinos and poker rooms while in college.

According to the memo, Patel was diagnosed with a gambling disorder in March 2023, a month after he was fired by the Jaguars, and has been receiving treatment and participating in Gamblers Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

“I’m glad that I got caught,” Patel said in the filing. “Although I have much trust to restore in the community, I now see the situation as a way to help as many others as I can who have addictions and problems with gambling. I realize that because it happened to me, it can happen to anybody.”

The filing also cites the deaths of several close family members, including an uncle killed by a white supremacist in the aftermath of 9/11; being stalked by a cafeteria worker during his freshman year of high school; and abuse of alcohol, marijuana and Adderall.

In their own sentencing memo filed Thursday, prosecutors refuted King’s assertion that his client’s behavior was fueled by gambling addiction and that “99% of the misappropriated funds” were used to pay back gambling losses. Instead, authorities say, $5 million went to his personal expenses.

According to the documents, Patel transferred approximately $20 million to FanDuel and $1 million to DraftKings, which ESPN previously reported, and used the rest of the stolen money on various other expenditures, including nearly $600,000 at Apple and more than $40,000 at Amazon and Best Buy combined.

He also transferred $5 million from his FanDuel and DraftKings accounts to his PayPal and other personal accounts, the filing said, and used it on a variety of purchases.

Patel continued to spend the stolen funds even after he was fired by the Jaguars in February 2023, including paying annual dues at his country club, according to the filing. He also purchased a game-used Trevor Lawrence jersey for $2,200 on eBay on Dec. 8, three days after prosecutors filed charges against him and six days before he pleaded guilty.

“The defendant was a trusted and valued member of Jaguars organization,” the prosecution wrote in its filing. “He betrayed that trust and stole over $22 million through hundreds of fraudulent transactions, which he skillfully concealed for over three years. He did not need that money. He did not use it to feed his family or care for sick loved ones. He did not donate the loot to a charity or use it to perform good works. He had fun with it. He lived it up — gambling, travelling, and shopping. Under these circumstances, a lengthy prison sentence is warranted.”

Patel is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.

ESPN’s David Purdum contributed to this report.