Amit Patel, the former Jaguars employee who allegedly stole $22 million from the team for sports betting purposes, was reportedly well-known for his terrible gambling prowess.
Patel was described by a fellow daily fantasy player as “the biggest loser ever on FanDuel” and “legendarily bad” at sports wagering, according to a report from ESPN’s David Purdum.
A second fantasy player told ESPN that Patel would often submit lineups with players who weren’t starting the game, and, at times, wouldn’t submit a lineup at all.
Patel reportedly entered several high-stakes contests with buy-ins of around $24,000 and bet nearly $500,000 on fantasy tournaments over the past six years, per the Worldwide Leader.
Earlier this month, The Athletic reported that Patel was charged with wire fraud and illegal monetary transactions for an embezzlement scheme that took place from 2019 until earlier this year.
Patel, who worked in the franchise’s finance department, operated under the username “ParlayPicker” on FanDuel and DraftKings during his gambling activities, per ESPN.
According to his attorney Alex King, Patel lost “approximately 99 percent” of the stolen money through gambling and daily fantasy.
“Almost the entirety of the funds Mr. Patel used from the VCC were spent on the gambling websites and efforts to win money back, with the anticipation he would repay the funds with the winnings and make the Jaguars whole,” King said in a statement, per The Athletic.
Betting on the NFL?
“Unfortunately, Mr. Patel’s compulsive gambling only exacerbated the situation, and he continued to misappropriate funds in an effort to have gambling winnings offset his significant losses.”
Prosecutors are accusing Patel of skimming funds from Jacksonville’s virtual credit card program (VCC), which he had oversight over, either by overstating or fabricating transactions and posing as legitimate business expenses.
Per King, Patel is cooperating with authorities and has checked himself into rehab for gambling addiction.
Read more
