FanDuel to pay Jaguars $5 million for money stolen by ex-team employee

The Jaguars will get some money back after they had millions stolen by a former employee for gambling purposes. 

FanDuel Sportsbook will pay the team approximately $5 million for the $22 million that Amit Patel, who worked in Jacksonville’s finance department, stole through a virtual credit card program between 2019 and 2023, according to ESPN.

Patel transferred $20 million of that stolen money to FanDuel and another $1 million to DraftKings for sports betting and daily fantasy. 

According to his attorney, Alex King, Patel lost “approximately 99 percent” of the stolen money through gambling.

He was described by a fellow daily fantasy player as “the biggest loser ever on FanDuel” and “legendarily bad” at sports betting in a report from ESPN in December 2023.

FanDuel was “encouraged” by the NFL to come to a resolution with the team, although the league did “not actively participate in the discussions,” according to the outlet. 

“FanDuel was motivated to pay the Jaguars in the interest of being a good partner with the league,” ESPN reported. 

In March 2024, Patel was sentenced to six and a half years in prison and ordered to pay $21.1 million in restitution to the Jaguars and participate in Gamblers Anonymous meetings.

 “I can never truly convey how sorry I am to everyone affected by my actions,” Patel said.

He was fired by the team a year before his sentencing. 

“We gave him his dream job. We trusted him. We worked with him. We broke bread with him. We went through a pandemic and the highs and lows of the NFL with him,” Megha Parekh, the Jaguars’ executive VP and chief legal officer, said in a statement. 

Last October, Patel sued FanDuel, stating that the company “preyed on his gambling addiction,” according to The Associated Press.