Ahead of his sentencing, Patel and his attorney, Alex King, filed a sentencing memo that reveals the defendant’s current position on his actions.
“I’m glad that I got caught. Although I have much trust to restore in the community, I now see the situation as a way to help as many others as I can who have addictions and problems with gambling. I realize that because it happened to me, it can happen to anybody.”
Allegations
During Patel’s time as a financial manager within the Jacksonville Jaguars organization, from 2018 until getting fired in February 2023, he allegedly committed fraud by abusing his access to the team’s virtual credit card system. This resulted in most of the stolen funds going toward high-stakes DFS contests on FanDuel and DraftKings, where Patel had a terrible win-loss record.
Patel is now accused of transferring $5 million out of his FanDuel and DraftKings accounts to fund a slew of personal expenses, such as vacations, hotel bookings, and annual country club fees. Other purchases totaling $640,000 were made at Apple, Amazon, and Best Buy, while he even purchased a Trevor Lawrence game jersey off of eBay for $2,200 after initial charges were filed by the prosecution and right before he pleaded guilty.
In his latest court filing, Patel and his team revealed that his gambling addiction stems back to when he worked at Deloitte in 2017, using an American Express card in an attempt to pay back his losses by taking out a $16,000 debt consolidation loan. His legal team stated that over 99% of the misappropriated funds were used to pay off gambling debts, yet prosecutors refuted this, pointing toward his long list of personal expenses.
Defense vs. prosecution
Patel’s legal team remains steadfast that their client suffered from a variety of addictions and trauma that led to stealing over $20 million from the Jacksonville Jaguars during a five-year period. They cite the deaths of close family members, a stalking incident, and gambling addiction from the time Patel was in high school as the primary motives for his actions.
The ex-Jaguars employee is currently receiving treatment for gambling addiction in Gamblers Annonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous. His defense team is seeking a one-year prison sentence or probation for two felony counts of wire fraud and illegal monetary transactions.
Prosecutors dismiss the claim, asserting in their court filing, "The defendant was a trusted and valued member of Jaguars organization. He betrayed that trust and stole over $22 million through hundreds of fraudulent transactions, which he skillfully concealed for over three years. He did not need that money. He did not use it to feed his family or care for sick loved ones. He did not donate the loot to a charity or use it to perform good works. He had fun with it. He lived it up — gambling, traveling, and shopping. Under these circumstances, a lengthy prison sentence is warranted."
Ahead of Tuesday's trial, prosecutors are currently seeking a seven-year prison sentence for the $20 million in fraud Patel committed.
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