JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — From prison, the man who embezzled $22 million from the Jacksonville Jaguars has filed a lawsuit seeking $250 million from online betting site FanDuel, saying they contributed to the gambling addiction that led to him stealing the money.
Amit Patel was sentenced to six and a half years in federal prison in March, after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the case. The Jaguars have also sued him for $67 million.
Patel was an employee of the Jaguars at the time and used his corporate card to spend the money.
In a complaint filed Monday, Patel's attorney writes on his behalf that he gambled over $20 million on daily fantasy sports between late 2019 and 2023, all while suffering from a gambling addiction. He deposited the money through "approximately" 1,077 deposits in the amount of $25,000, sometimes depositing 10 deposits in that amount in one day.
He alleges that FanDuel "preyed upon" Patel and used incentives to keep him coming back. The lawsuit says personnel at FanDuel should have known that it was possible for Patel to become a criminal, because they must know "between 70-80% of addicted gamblers will commit a felony to obtain money with which to gamble."
The lawsuit says FanDuel knew about Patel's crimes: "Part of (FanDuel)'s predatory gambling practice was intentionally ignoring its own responsible gaming protocol, and knowing/and or taking intentional steps to avoid knowing that the money gambled by (Patel) was stolen or otherwise not coming from a legitimate source."
The suit says FanDuel broke the law when it allegedly "actively and intentionally targeted and preyed on (Patel) with incentives, credits, and gifts to create, nurture, expedite, and/or exacerbate his addiction with the only possible outcome that he would ultimately hit rock bottom."
The incentives listed in the lawsuit include trips to the Formula One Miami Grand Prix and the Superbowl, as well as credits for gambling on the site.
Lawsuit says gambling site knew Patel was using corporate card
The lawsuit says Patel started using the Jaguars' credit card to deposit funds into his account on FanDuel while his "judgement was severely affected by his gambling addiction." FanDuel attempted to verify the source of the funds, but "days later, and without (Patel) providing verification of any kind" Patel was told that the issue had been resolved. "Defendants informed plaintiff that 'defendants got around it' and 'you owe me big time' or words to that effect" and verification was no longer required, according to the document.
The lawsuit also alleges that personnel at FanDuel knew Patel worked for the NFL and was therefore not allowed to bet on the NFL, but encouraged him to do so anyway.
Patel says he was 'manipulated'
The lawsuit details communication between Patel and a man who was assigned to him as a "VIP host" named Brett Krause.
According to the lawsuit, Krause texted with Patel daily -- sometimes from morning till night -- to ensure he was coming back to the site to gamble, and would question him if he did not gamble that day. Patel is accusing Krause of preventing him from taking a "cooling-off" period to tamper his addiction; the lawsuit says FanDuel rewarded Krause for keeping Patel from taking time off.
Patel alleges that Krause's job was to make him feel comfortable to allow him to "manipulate (Patel) and other addicted gamblers."
Lawsuit says gambling site of conspiracy, negligence
The lawsuit alleges FanDuel broke the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
It also accuses FanDuel of negligence, encouraging Patel's addiction when they "knew or should have known the effect of creating, nurturing, expediting, and/or exacerbating the Plaintiff's gambling addiction."
Patel alleges FanDuel caused him emotional distress because of the gambling and what resulted from it.
Finally, Patel accuses FanDuel of conspiracy to commit tort, which means two or more people conspired to do something illegal and harm someone. In this case, Patel says that the people he delt with at FanDuel conspired to prey on Patel's addiction and continued to entice him with incentives.
He is requesting $250 million for compensatory damages and punitive damages, plus interest and legal fees.
