Lawyer says former Jaguars employee accused of stealing $22M used 'almost the entirety' on sports gambling sites

In the aftermath of the report that former Jacksonville Jaguars employee Amit Patel had stolen more than $22 million from the team, his attorney says he used almost all of it on sports betting sites due to a "serious gambling addiction."

Patel's lawyer Alex King said in a statement that his client was misguided but didn't use the Jaguars as his personal piggy bank. 

Instead, King argues that his client spent "approximately 99 percent" of the funds stolen from the team's virtual credit card program on gambling sites, FanDuel and DraftKings, to overcome substantial financial loss. 

"Almost the entirety of the funds Mr. Patel used from the VCC were spent on the gambling websites and efforts to win money back, anticipating that he would repay the funds with the winnings and make the Jaguars whole," King said via The Athletic. "Unfortunately, Mr. Patel's compulsive gambling only exacerbated the situation, and he continued to misappropriate funds in an effort to have gambling winnings offset his significant losses." 

When news of Patel's dirty deeds emerged, many believed he was simply a conman using the Jaguars to live lavishly. However, his lawyer now paints a picture of a sympathetic figure in need of help who only tried to do right by his employer despite his addiction. 

Both could be true, but while Patel worked for the Jaguars from 2018 to 2022, he reportedly purchased a condominium in Florida and multiple vehicles, along with stays at luxury hotels and flights on private jets.

Over four years, Patel rose from coordinator to financial planning and analysis manager with the Jaguars. Before the team fired him in February, he was in charge of the franchise's monthly financial statements and department budgets while being the administrator of the VCC program, which he allegedly defrauded.

The revelation that Patel used most of his stolen loot to bet on sports has to be a concern for the Jaguars and the NFL. A recent statement from the team confirmed that Patel had no access to confidential football information, though it's still unclear if he bet on Jaguars games.