A former Jacksonville Jaguars financial executive who was sentenced to prison after defrauding the team of more than $22 million which was used for gambling and personal expenditures, amended his lawsuit filed against several companies.
Fox Removed from Gambling Lawsuit Without Prejudice
In October 2024, Amit Patel, a former employee of the Jaguars, sued FanDuel from prison. The plaintiff, who is currently serving six and a half years in prison for the embezzlement of $22.2 million from the team filed lawsuit not only against FanDuel but XYZ Corps., Boyd Gaming, Flutter and Fox Corporation. In his claim against Fox, Patel alleged that he was lured into gambling, despite the company, which owns part of FanDuel, knowing of his gambling addiction.
Now, as announced by SBC Americas, the plaintiff voluntarily decided to drop his legal claim against Fox. The publication cited documents filed with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York confirming that Patel voluntarily dismissed his legal claim against Fox without prejudice. This means that in the future, the lawsuit can be filed once again and create further complications for Fox.
While the claim against Fox was dropped, the lawsuit against Flutter and FanDuel remains active. With that in mind, District Judge Vernon S. Broderick previously ordered the plaintiff to submit affidavits and describe why the case against Flutter and FanDuel needs to proceed. Patel was given a deadline by January 9 to submit this information and failure to do so may result in the dismissal of his case.
The Former Financial Executive Was Targeted Despite His Addiction
Naming the recognizable gaming and betting companies, the plaintiff alleged that despite his gambling addiction, he was targeted and lured with special offers, experiences and credits. Claiming that the defendants “actively and intentionally targeted and preyed” on him, Patel sought $250 million in damages from the companies he filed the lawsuit against.
However, as noted, an investigation uncovered Patel embezzled more than $20 million from the Jaguars. The fraud was committed between 2018 and 2023 when the executive was employed by the popular NFL team and abused his role. Overall, Patel stole $22.2 million. The former Jaguars executive pleaded guilty on December 14, 2023, admitting wire fraud. Then, in March last year, Patel was sentenced to 6.5 years in federal prison. The judgment came from US District Judge Henry L. Adams. In addition to prison time, the former financial executive was ordered to pay full restitution to his former employer and undergo supervised release.
The investigation into Patel’s wrongdoing uncovered that with the embezzled money, he purchased expensive items, including a nearly $100,000 wristwatch. Separately, he bought a putter used by the famous golfer, Tiger Woods. While gambling was one of the main uses of the stolen money, the former financial executive also spent nearly $80,000 on private jet flights, among other personal expenses.
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