Former Jacksonville Jaguars Employee Accused of Stealing Over $22 Million
A former Jacksonville Jaguars employee has been accused of using the company’s virtual credit card program to steal more than $22 million for personal purchases. According to court documents obtained by News4JAX, the purchases included two cars, cryptocurrency, and lavish vacations.
The accused, identified as Amit Patel, worked for an organization referred to as “Business A” and was responsible for preparing monthly financial statements, overseeing department budgets, and performing other administrative duties. While Business A is not named as the Jaguars in the court filing, the team confirmed to The Athletic that it is the unnamed business in the document. Patel is listed in the Jaguars 2022 Media Guide under the Finance and Business Planning department as a financial planning and analysis manager.
The federal filing alleges that Patel had access to the Jaguars’ virtual credit card (VCC) and was the only person overseeing the program beginning in October 2019. The document states that Patel spent a little over $22,221,000 in fraudulent VCC transactions from September 2019 to February 2023 when he was fired.
The purchases made by Patel using the stolen funds were extravagant and included gambling online, purchasing a condo in Ponte Vedra Beach, and paying for luxury travel expenses for himself and his friends, which included private jets, luxury hotel stays, and private home rentals. Patel also bought a Tesla Model 3, a Nissan pickup truck, hired a criminal defense lawyer, purchased cryptocurrency, electronics, sports memorabilia, a country club membership, spa treatments, concert and sporting event tickets, home furnishings, and a $95,000 watch.
According to the filing, Patel covered his tracks while working for the team by not accurately reporting his virtual credit card transactions and instead creating integration files containing false entries that he would email to the team’s accounting department. The document also alleges that Patel found legitimate transactions and duplicated them.
Patel is facing charges of wire fraud and illegal monetary transactions and has opted to be charged by information, waiving the indictment. News4JAX has reached out to the Jaguars for a response but has not heard back yet.
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