A former financial manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) who embezzled $22 million from the team is now suing FanDuel for $250 million. He has filed a lawsuit in federal court, accusing the betting company of exploiting his gambling addiction.
Amit Patel is currently serving a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence in South Carolina for stealing from the Jacksonville Jaguars. He claims that FanDuel ignored its policies on responsible gambling and anti-money laundering.
What are the allegations in the lawsuit?
The lawsuit alleges that FanDuel knew Patel could not legally gamble due to his status as an NFL team employee, yet allowed him to gamble. Patel states that the $20 million he bet over several years in daily fantasy sports tournaments was either stolen or not from a legitimate source.
The lawsuit claims that FanDuel and its parent company knew Patel was an "addicted gambler." Moreover, it alleges that the defendants "exploited" Patel's gambling addiction by "leveraging his addiction information to lure him."
The lawsuit also states that FanDuel provided Patel with over $1.1 million in gambling credits and induced him to continue gambling. His dedicated account manager contacted him up to 100 times a day. In some instances, if the account manager noticed he hadn't placed bets that day, they would proactively call to ask why.
These temptations also included gifts from the company, such as trips to the Super Bowl, the Masters Golf Tournament, car races, and college basketball games.
Patel's lawyer, Matthew Litt, said: "This lawsuit is not about completely absolving this addicted gambler of responsibility, but rather about fairly distributing responsibility, considering FanDuel's active role in his gambling addiction."
In December, Patel pleaded guilty to wire fraud and other charges, agreeing to repay the funds he stole from the team. Prosecutors said he used the money to buy sports memorabilia, country club memberships, spa treatments, and tickets to sports events and concerts. Additionally, he used the funds for private jet charters, gambling, and a Tesla Model 3 car.
