Ex-Jaguars employee accused of stealing $22M

A former Jacksonville Jaguars employee is accused of funding his lavish lifestyle by stealing more than $22 million from the team, according to court documents.

Amit Patel, who most recently worked as the Jaguars' manager of financial planning and analysis before his firing in February, allegedly used a scheme involving a corporate virtual credit card to pay for automobiles, a condominium, luxury goods, online betting, the chartering of private jets and more, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Middle District of Florida said.

He is facing one count of wire fraud and one count of illegal monetary transaction.

In his job, Patel was tasked with keeping track of usage of the virtual credit card. He allegedly overstated the amounts paid for legitimate expenses, such as hotels, and added in future anticipated charges to balance the expenses against the expenditures and cover up any fraud.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the Jaguars said only Patel took part in the alleged activity.

"We can confirm that in February 2023, the team terminated the employment of the individual named in the filing," the team 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 thank them for their efforts in this case. As was made clear in the charges, this individual was a former manager of financial planning and analysis who took advantage of his trusted position to covertly and intentionally commit significant fraudulent financial activity at the team's expense for personal benefit.

"This individual had no access to confidential football strategy, personnel or other football information. The team engaged experienced law and accounting firms to conduct a comprehensive independent review, which concluded that no other team employees were involved in or aware of his criminal activity."

—Field Level Media