Former Jaguars employee accused of stealing over $22 million،
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A former Jacksonville Jaguars financial employee is accused of stealing more than $22 million from the franchise over a four-year period by manipulating its virtual credit card program, according to documents filed this week in United States District Court.
The United States Attorney's Office charged Amit Patel with wire fraud and illegal monetary transaction, alleging that Patel – who held various titles during his tenure with the Jaguars, including director of planning and financial analysis – used his position as sole supervisor. of the franchise's VCC program to finance lavish personal purchases and conceal his theft.
The Athletic was first to report the charges, which were filed Tuesday in the Jacksonville division of the Middle District of Florida.
The Jaguars were not named in the court filing, but the team confirmed it was the entity identified as “Company A” and said in a statement that it had fired Patel earlier this year.
“We can confirm that in February 2023, the team terminated the employment of the individual named in the filing,” the statement said. “Over the past several months, we have cooperated fully with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida during their investigation and we thank them for their efforts in this matter. As the charges make clear, This individual was a former financial planning and analysis manager who took advantage of his position of trust to secretly and intentionally commit significant financial fraud at the expense of the team for his own personal gain. no access to strategy, personnel or other confidential football information. The team hired law and accounting firms to conduct a comprehensive independent review, which concluded that no other team employees was involved in or aware of his criminal activity.
According to the court filing, Patel is accused of stealing $22,221,454.40 and using some of that money for purchases that included a condominium in Ponte Vedra Beach, a Tesla Model 3 sedan, crypto- currency, private jet charters, luxury hotel stays, country club memberships and luxury wristwatches.
The filing alleges that Patel became the sole administrator in October 2019 of the Jaguars' VCC program, which is a payment method that functions like a traditional credit card account but without a physical credit card. Some employees were allowed to use the VCC program for business-related purchases and expenses. Patel is accused of duplicating legitimate expenses in an electronic ledger, inflating legitimate transaction amounts and entering fictitious transactions, then using the money for personal purchases.
The filing does not detail how or when the Jaguars became aware of the alleged theft.
