Indian American manager of US football team jailed for fraud

A 31-year-old Indian American former financial manager of the American football team Jacksonville Jaguars has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in jail for stealing more than $22 million (£17.2m) and engaging in an illegal monetary transaction, according to court documents.

Amit Patel was sentenced by US District Judge Henry L Adams on Tuesday (12), the US Attorney's Office, middle district of Florida said in a statement.

As part of his sentence, the court entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $22,221,454.40, the proceeds of the wire fraud charge.

Patel was also ordered to pay full restitution to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the victim of his offence and his former employer. Patel pleaded guilty on December 14, 2023.

According to court documents, Patel operated a fraud scheme through which he embezzled approximately £17.2m from the Jaguars over four years.

Specifically, Patel used his role as the administrator for the team’s virtual credit card (VCC) programme to make hundreds of purchases and transactions with no legitimate business purpose.

A virtual credit card system works similarly to a traditional credit card account but without a physical card.

Patel’s fraudulent transactions began in September 2019 and continued until he was fired by the Jaguars in February 2023, the release said.

“This case exemplifies the FBI’s relentless effort to protect American companies and their customers,” said Mark Dargis, acting special agent in charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division.

“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.”

He used the proceeds of this scheme, in whole or part, to place bets with online gambling websites, to purchase a condominium in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, to pay for personal travel for himself and friends (including chartering private jets and booking luxury hotels and private rental residences), to acquire a new Tesla Model 3 sedan and a pickup truck.

He also used the money to pay a criminal defence law firm, and to purchase cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens, electronics, sports memorabilia, a country club membership, spa treatments, concert and sporting event tickets, home furnishings, and luxury wristwatches.

Patel did not report any of this illicit income on his tax returns.

(PTI)