In an extraordinary turn of events that has sent shockwaves through the NFL arena, a former worker of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Amit Patel, has been accused of orchestrating a multi-million-dollar robbery from the team. This stunning revelation came to light through a sequence of court documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, Florida, per The Athletic.
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Patel, who joined the Jaguars in 2018, had a pivotal role in managing the team’s finances. He oversaw monthly financial statements and department budgets. He was the administrator of the Jaguars’ Virtual Credit Card (VCC) program to provide business-related purchases to the staff.
The organization had no idea that this program could lead to financial theft. Over a period of five years, from 2019 to 2023, Patel is accused of exploiting this VCC program to siphon off more than $22 million. The details, as outlined in the court documents, depict a calculated manipulation of the system. Patel is alleged to have duplicated transactions, inflated legitimate expenses, and even fabricated completely fictitious transactions.
The fans reacted in various ways to the surprising news. A user commented, “He thought they’d never see it.”
Another one wrote, “Bro got the card and went crazy.”
A comment read, “This is why they couldn’t afford a cart for Trevor Lawrence,” referencing Lawrence’s recent injury
A fan wrote, “This is wild. the fact that it took them 5 years to catch him.”
According to the court filing by the Jaguars, Patel manually tinkered with the system by using “reoccurring VCC transactions, such as catering, airfare, and hotel charges, and then duplicated those transactions; he inflated the amounts of legitimate reoccurring transactions; he entered completely fictitious transactions that might sound plausible, but that never actually occurred.”
Amit Patel Accused of Living a Lavish Lifestyle Bought From Stolen Money
According to the court filing, Patel allegedly funded his betting and gambling habit from the money he stole from the team. He has been accused of not only lining his pockets but also using the scheme to fund travels for himself and his friends and not sparing any luxury such as private jets and luxury hotels.
The statement details, “to lodge a retainer with a criminal defense law firm; and to purchase cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens, electronics, sports memorabilia, a country club membership, spa treatments, concerts and sporting event tickets, home furnishings, and luxury wrist watches,” as some of the expenses he charged on the VCC. According to Mike Mazzeo of Legal Sports Report, Patel’s representation has attributed his behavior to “gambling addiction.”
His most lavish spending according to the prosecutors is a brand new Tesla and a two-bedroom condo in Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida. The property is valued at more than $250,000 per the charging documents. He allegedly used the Jaguars’ virtual credit card accounts to purchase everything from luxury travel arrangements and hotels to a $95,000 watch.
