for early access to the latest igaming videos!
and get the latest igaming news first!
FanDuel has reached an agreement to pay the Jacksonville Jaguars approximately $5 million, a move aimed at offsetting the nearly $20 million embezzled by a former employee.
This arrangement, which was reportedly finalized earlier this year, follows a scandal involving Amit Patel, the Jaguars’ ex-financial manager, who pleaded guilty to stealing around $22 million through a virtual credit card system used for team expenses.
Sources close to the situation spoke to the Associated Press and revealed that the payment was made to help offset the financial blow from Patel’s actions, which he used to fund his gambling habits.
The agreement, first reported by ESPN, is hardly surprising as FanDuel will be looking to maintain its strong relationship with the NFL and avoid lengthy legal battles, especially as one of its official gambling partners. Both parties have refused to issue a statement regarding the agreement.
Patel’s embezzlement went unnoticed for three years
For over three years, Amit Patel managed to steal nearly $20 million from the Jacksonville Jaguars without detection. Most of the stolen funds went into FanDuel, where he engaged heavily in daily fantasy sports contests.
Court documents also reveal that Patel exploited the team’s internal accounting systems. He inflated legitimate expenses related to catering, airfare, and hotels, and even fabricated transactions to make them seem authentic.
Patel, being in charge of monthly financial statements and department budgets, provided him with the perfect opportunity to carry out his scheme unnoticed. His thefts spanned from September 2019 until February 2023, when a suspicious wager raised alarms within the NFL, leading to investigations into his activities.
Eventually, he was sentenced to six and a half years in federal prison and initially placed in a minimum-security facility in Alabama. In July, he was moved to a Duval County jail after state prosecutors filed a first-degree organized fraud charge against him, which could lead to a potential 30-year prison sentence.
Patel’s case against FanDuel still undecided
The legal battles surrounding Amit Patel are far from over. Last July, the Jaguars filed a lawsuit against him, seeking over $66 million in damages. The team is looking to recover not only the funds he stole but also interest, investigation costs, and other related losses.
In a surprising twist, Patel responded in October 2024 by filing his own $250 million lawsuit against FanDuel, claiming that the sportsbook failed to implement adequate responsible gaming measures and anti-money laundering protocols.
Patel contends that FanDuel should have recognized that, as an NFL employee, he was ineligible to place bets, especially given the large amounts he deposited. He also admitted to depositing $1 million with DraftKings. Despite the serious nature of these claims, FanDuel has remained silent on the matter, and the Jaguars have yet to comment as well.
Currently, Patel’s lawsuit against FanDuel is still pending. The company is pushing for arbitration, citing its terms and conditions, which it argues Patel must adhere to.
During his embezzlement trial, federal prosecutors dismissed Patel’s claims of gambling addiction as a motive for his crimes. They highlighted that, during his employment with the Jaguars, he lived extravagantly, funding a lifestyle that included private jets, luxury hotels, high-end cars, and even cryptocurrency investments.
Source: Next.io
Image credit: By Richmond96 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43489606
