The Jaguars sued their former employee who stole $22 million from the organization in Florida state court Thursday.
The team is seeking $66.6 million in damages from Amit Patel, who used his position in charge of the team’s virtual credit card program to steal money. He spent the vast majority of the funds on gambling, mainly on FanDuel, but also bought private jet flights, a condo, a Tesla, and other luxuries. The team claims Patel committed civil theft, fraudulent misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary duty.
Patel, who pleaded guilty in December, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison in March. Patel lost the money gambling, which could seem to make it difficult to recover, but there are several theories as to why the Jags are suing now.
Florida business attorney Negin Kordbacheh told ESPN a legal win would give the team the ability to recover funds and take ownership of the things Patel bought without needing the government to do it for them, and the Jaguars could recover up to three times what they lost. The team has asked FanDuel to give back the roughly $20 million Patel spent on daily fantasy games, but the betting operator isn’t required by any laws to do so. Patel also transferred $1 million to DraftKings, according to court documents obtained by ESPN.
It’s possible, said Pro Football Talk, that Jacksonville and Patel have agreed that the former employee will file a third-party complaint against the betting companies, arguing they should’ve detected his problem gambling and illegal activity. In that scenario, the Jaguars wouldn’t have to sue FanDuel or DraftKings directly, which could be awkward as the gambling companies are in business with the NFL.
