Report: Jaguars Asks FanDuel to Return Employee’s Stolen $20M

Report: Jaguars Asks FanDuel to Return Employee’s Stolen $20M article feature image
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Rob Carr/Getty Images. Pictured: A Jacksonville Jaguars helmet sits on the field.

The Jaguars have requested FanDuel to reimburse the team $20 million of funds that a team employee embezzled over a three-and-a-half year period.

Amit Patel pled guilty in December to stealing roughly $22 million from the Jaguars, having been given access to the team's expense fund.

Patel used that money to fund a lavish lifestyle filled with vacation getaways, chartered private jets and a nearly $100,000 watch. But he also lost about $20 million at FanDuel on daily fantasy sports and sports betting, ESPN reported.

Patel also lost about $1 million on DraftKings.

ESPN reported that Patel transferred the funds directly from the team's credit card into the platform.

Patel's lawyer had said gambling and substance abuse problems fueled his embezzling scheme. Patel will be sentenced in March and faces up to 30 years in prison.

As it stands, the Jaguars have limited legal recourse to recoup the lost funds and FanDuel doesn't intend to acquiesce.

Patel played daily fantasy sports under the pseudonym "ParlayPicker." A veteran daily fantasy sports player told ESPN that they believed ParlayPicker was the "biggest loser ever on FanDuel."

"He was legendarily bad," the veteran DFS player said.

About the Author
Avery Yang is an editor at the Action Network who focuses on breaking news across the sports world and betting algorithms that try to predict eventual outcomes. He is also Darren Rovell's editor. Avery is a recent graduate from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He has written for the Washington Post, the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, (the old) Deadspin, MLB.com and others.

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