The Jacksonville Jaguars want FanDuel to reimburse them for some or all of the roughly $20 million that former employee Amit Patel stole and used on the site, but the gambling company is refusing, according to ESPN.
Patel, who pleaded guilty to felony charges of wire fraud and illegal monetary transaction, obtained the dough through a virtual credit card system that Jacksonville would use for expenses. Sources told ESPN that Patel lost $20 million on daily fantasy and sports bets on FanDuel and about $1 million on DraftKings. He directly transferred the money from the credit card system to the popular betting service.
“The way they (FanDuel) see it … we got this money fair and clear,” the source said. “It’s not our problem that we have to forfeit it back to you.”
The Jags said they were not aware of the scheme until they were alerted by FanDuel that some bets of unknown value were placed in Tennessee. They were also notified by the NFL of Patel’s stealing.
“Gambling sites have a duty to perform ‘Anti-Money Laundering’ and ‘Know Your Client’ procedures to ensure they do not onboard funds of an illicit origin,” said Stephen Bell, an attorney who practices in white-collar criminal cases to ESPN. “Where the size of a customer’s bets far outweighs their income, red flags are present and should require additional due diligence to confirm the funds are clean.”
Back in December, Patel’s lawyer Alex King said when his client’s losses began to pile up, he used the VCC program to subsidize them.
“It started with a little bit and, as these things usually do, spiraled wildly out of control,” King told The Athletic in a telephone interview.
