Federal prosecutors have outlined some of the lavish spending by former Jacksonville Jaguars employee Amit Patel, who is accused of embezzling around $22 million from the NFL franchise.
According to court documents, Patel used a significant portion of the money to fund a luxurious lifestyle. Some of his expenditures included buying Tiger Woods’ putter from 1996 and spending over $78,000 on private air travel.
Patel also used the misappropriated funds to pay a $275,000 retainer for his attorney, Alex King. King stated that Patel developed a gambling addiction and used the embezzled money to cover his losses
While King estimated that “99% of the misappropriated funds” went towards gambling losses, authorities claim Patel spent around $5 million on personal expenses.
Documents revealed that Patel transferred about $20 million to FanDuel and $1 million to DraftKings, and also spent close to $600,000 on Apple products and over $40,000 at Amazon and Best Buy combined.
Additionally, Patel allegedly transferred $5 million from his FanDuel and DraftKings accounts to other personal accounts, according to the court filing. Patel was fired by the Jaguars in early 2023, but he is accused of continuing to spend the stolen money even after his termination.
The transactions also included more than $9,000 in purchases from the Jaguars, the team’s Pro Shop, the stadium club, and the stadium. King’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
