Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesFormer Jacksonville Jaguars employee Amit Patel was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing $22 million—which was largely used for gambling and daily fantasy purposes—from the team.
Michael DiRocco of ESPN reported the sentencing, which also ordered Patel to pay the Jaguars $21.1 million in restitution and attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings, was issued Tuesday.
Patel's attorney, Alex King, issued court filings asking for his client's punishment to range from probation to one year in prison, while federal prosecutors sought a seven-year sentence for wire fraud and illegal monetary transaction.
"We gave him his dream job," Jaguars senior vice president and chief legal officer Megha Parekh said when reading a statement from the team. "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. He betrayed us.
"We take no joy in his punishment. Make no mistake, Amit broke our hearts."
The Jaguars also clarified that Patel was the only employee to participate in these activities and he had no inside access to football information.
DiRocco noted Patel oversaw the Jaguars' virtual credit card program and stole more than $22 million from the team over the course of 3.5 years. Court documents revealed he transferred approximately $20 million to FanDuel and $1 million to DraftKings while also using some of the money on things such as Apple products and private jet travel.
ESPN's David Purdum reported in December that Patel "was a high-volume, high-stakes daily fantasy sports player known for racking up big losses."
One daily fantasy player told Purdum that Patel, who played under the username "ParlayPicker," was "the biggest loser ever on FanDuel," with another person saying "he was legendarily bad."
The NFL prohibits team and league employees from gambling on sports or participating in daily fantasy.
According to DiRocco, Patel has received treatment and attended Gamblers Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings after he was diagnosed with a gambling disorder in March 2023.
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