Indian-American Amit Patel Defrauds Jacksonville Jaguars Football Team of $22 Million for Lavish Lifestyle

Amit Patel, a former executive of the Jacksonville Jaguars, has been accused of swindling $22 million from the American Football team to finance his lavish lifestyle. Patel served as the manager of financial planning and analysis for the team from 2018 to 2023. While the team has not been mentioned by name in the court documents, it has been referred to as “Business A” and has confirmed that it was the victim of Patel’s alleged crimes.

As part of his role, Patel had access to the team’s Virtual Credit Card (VCC), which is used by authorized employees for business-related expenses. Taking advantage of this access, Patel began making fraudulent purchases in 2019. To cover his tracks, he labeled these transactions as “recurring VCC transactions,” such as catering, airfare, and hotel fees. He then manipulated the amounts to forge financial statements, including fictitious transactions that never actually occurred.

The swindled funds were used by Patel for various indulgences, including online betting, cryptocurrency investments, luxury watches, spa treatments, concert tickets, chartered flights, and the purchase of a Tesla Model 3 sedan and a Nissan pick-up truck. Court documents also revealed that Patel used the embezzled money to buy a condominium in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have cooperated fully with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida throughout the investigation. The team expressed gratitude for their efforts in the case. They clarified that Patel did not have access to any confidential football strategy or personnel information. Furthermore, an independent review conducted by experienced law and accounting firms concluded that no other team employees were involved in or aware of Patel’s criminal activities.

The investigation is ongoing, and the team is awaiting further developments.