Former Jacksonville Jaguars employee Amit Patel was sentenced Tuesday to more than six years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty in December to stealing more than $22 million from his former employer.
Patel, 31, was sentenced to 6½ years by U.S. District Judge Henry L. Adams for stealing from the Jaguars through the team's virtual credit card program from September 2019 until February 2023, according to a press release.
"Amit Patel knowingly and wittingly created a deceptive scheme to fund a lavish lifestyle at his employer’s expense, and today’s sentencing is a warning to other scam artists: The FBI and our partners will continue to aggressively pursue corporate fraud investigations to protect consumers from bearing the costs associated with criminal activity," Mark Dargis, acting special agent in charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division, said in a statement.
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Prosecutors say Patel used the stolen money to fund a lavish lifestyle that included online gambling, chartering private jets and the purchase of a private condominium in Ponte Vedra Beach, sports memorabilia, cars, spa treatments and other personal purchases.
Patel spent $5 million on a "life of luxury" that included purchases like a 1996 Tiger Woods’ putter, nearly $600,000 at Apple and more than $40,000 at Amazon and Best Buy combined, ESPN reported, citing court documents.
He spent most of the money on online sports gambling.
As part of his sentence, Patel was ordered to pay full restitution to the Jaguars. He has so far returned $1.89 million.
"I stand before you embarrassed, ashamed and disappointed for my actions," Patel, who’s attorneys claimed he had a gambling addiction, said at Tuesday’s hearing. "It began small and then snowballed so big that my only thought was to gamble my way out of it. In the end, I always thought that big win was right around the corner and would fix all my problems."
The investigation into Patel was triggered by an NFL investigation into his gambling. The case was then handed over to the FBI.
"Speaking on behalf of the Jaguars, we do know that we want to move on and forgive, not just Amit, but ourselves for trusting him only to watch him shame us, individually and collectively," Jaguars’ Chief Legal Officer Megha Parekh said in court Tuesday.
"We are proud of our employees for how they weathered through the mess he made. But, make no mistake, Amit broke our hearts."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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