NFL Employee Allegedly Stole Millions For Daily Fantasy SportsJacksonville Jaguars Employee Allegedly Took Over $22 Million For Gambling |
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The NFL was rocked last week by reports that an employee with the Jacksonville Jaguars is accused of stealing millions of dollars from the team over a four-year period. Federal authorities also allege that the suspect used the funds to play numerous high-stakes daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged Amit Patel, 31, with wire fraud and illegal monetary transaction, alleging that he used the franchise’s virtual credit card (VCC) program to move more than $22 million into his own accounts.
Using the name “ParlayPicker,” Patel is alleged to have been involved in high-dollar fantasy contests on FanDuel and DraftKings, according to ESPN.
Big-Money Contests
Rotogrinders reported that “ParlayPicker” wagered almost $500,000 on NFL, MLB, PGA, and UFC contests since 2017. A big chunk of that appears to be in high-stakes three-player contests that often featured buy-ins of $24,000 or more.
Federal officials allege that beyond his gambling habits, Patel used some of the funds to live a luxury lifestyle. Some of his purchases, according to prosecutors, included a condo in Ponte Vedra Beach, a Tesla, cryptocurrency, chartering private jets, luxury hotel stays, a country club membership, and designer watches.
Patel’s attorney Alex King has disputed those allegations, saying the money was taken strictly for gambling.
“Mr. Patel did not use the Jaguars’ VCC to fund his lifestyle, but in a horribly misguided effort to pay back previous gambling losses that utilized the Jaguars’ VCC program,” King said last week. He noted that "approximately 99% of the misappropriated funds” were used for gambling.
According to court documents, the scheme continued from 2019 until February 2023, when the team fired Patel. During his time with the Jaguars, Patel held several positions in the finance department that apparently allowed access to the VCC program. He had most recently worked for the team as a manager of financial planning and analysis.
Along with siphoning millions away from the team, Patel is also in violation of the NFL’s gambling policy. The policy prohibits league employees from sports betting or participating in DFS, although in this case, being an employee didn’t exactly help him win.
The league has stressed that Patel did not have a gambling advantage based on his role with the team.
“A league review uncovered no evidence indicating any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way,” NFL spokesperson Alex Riethmiller told ESPN.
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