A former employee defrauded the Jacksonville Jaguars of $22 million. Now there is movement in the case.

There is movement in a fraud case involving the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Authorities in the US state of Florida have filed charges of grand theft against a former employee of the NFL franchise.

He had stolen more than $22 million from the team to finance his gambling addiction, according to state documents.

Amit Patel, 32, is already serving a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence in South Carolina after pleading guilty to fraud and illegal money transactions in December 2023.

He now faces six counts of grand theft. The theft of more than $100,000 is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Patel had previously admitted to stealing from the Jaguars for about three and a half years while managing the team’s virtual credit card program.

State prosecutors claim that the defendant led a “luxurious lifestyle” and used the money to finance expensive vacations and purchase high-end watches, among other things.

Defendant sued sports betting company

The Jaguars have already sued their former employee for damages amounting to $66.6 million, but that case is still pending.

Patel himself filed a lawsuit against the sports betting company FanDuel in a US federal court in July last year, claiming that the company had “exploited” his gambling addiction and deliberately ignored its gambling and money laundering protocols.

According to court documents, he transferred around $20 million to the company. This case is also still pending in court.

Neither the Jaguars nor FanDuel wanted to comment on the matter.