FanDuel Agrees to Pay $5 Million to Jacksonville Jaguars After $22 Million Fraud
Posted on: September 15, 2025, 07:05h.
Last updated on: September 15, 2025, 09:41h.
- Jaguars recover partial funds after FanDuel settlement over fraud
- Team’s ex-finance manager Amit Patel sentenced for $22M theft
- Patel also sues FanDuel, citing gambling addiction exploitation
FanDuel will pay the Jacksonville Jaguars $5 million in part restitution for the $22 million stolen from the team by a former employee, according to ESPN sources.
In March 2024, Amit Patel, the Jags’ former finance manager, pleaded guilty in a federal court to wire fraud and engaging in an illegal monetary transaction in relation to the theft of exactly $22,221,454.40 from the NFL franchise. He’s serving a 6½-year sentence in a federal prison.
According to “multiple” ESPN sources, the compensation deal was reached in early 2025. After initially adopting the position that it was under no obligation to forfeit any of the money, FanDuel agreed to the resolution because it wanted to remain a good partner with the NFL, the sources claimed. FanDuel has been the league’s “Official Sports Betting Partner” since 2021.
‘Biggest Loser Ever’
From 2018 to 2023, Patel was the sole administrator for the team’s virtual credit card system. This position allowed him to siphon off money by falsifying hundreds of transactions, initially undetected.
Over that time, he transferred roughly $20 million to FanDuel and $1 million to DraftKings, which he lost playing high-volume, high-stakes daily fantasy sports.
He was described by one DFS regular as the “biggest loser ever on FanDuel,” according to court documents. In addition to his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay $21.1 million in restitution to his former employer.
In July 2024, the Jaguars sued Patel in a Florida state court for $66.6 million, since Florida law allows for a “cause of action for threefold the actual damages sustained” in civil theft cases.
Separately, Patel is suing FanDuel for $250 million, alleging the sports betting giant exploited his gambling addiction.
The lawsuit claims that FanDuel failed to identify suspicious activity and “relentlessly” promoted Patel’s gambling through regular contact with a VIP host. The company hasn’t issued a public response to the case.
Luxury Lifestyle
Court records show that Patel was diagnosed with a gambling disorder in March 2023, shortly after the theft came to light.
Federal prosecutors argued that gambling addiction alone didn’t explain Patel’s actions, since he used some of the money to maintain a luxury lifestyle. He spent $78K on private jet charters, nearly $600K at Apple, and more than $40K at Amazon and Best Buy. He also splashed out $265K on a Ponte Vedra Beach condo, and bought Tiger Woods’ 1996 putter, according to court documents.
As of July 2025, Patel is facing additional charges filed by the state of Florida that could significantly increase his sentence.
Last Comment ( 1 )
So why hasn't FinCEN and/or the IRS tagged FanDuel and Draft Kings for violations of Title 31, Patriot Act, and other AML statutes? These companies clearly did not conduct the required know your customer ("KYC") and source of funds ("SOF") investigations on this very high volume bettor. Someone (or many someone's) at both of these companies should be sitting in a jail cell right next to their customer, Mr. Patel. Patel is guilty for his own conduct, but these companies are guilty for each similar customer where they are not properly investigating who the customer is and where the money originates. It is time to shut them down. They refuse to follow the law.