Imprisoned Jacksonville Jags worker sues FanDuel for ‘exploiting’ gambling addiction

A former Jacksonville Jaguars employee now serving a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence after embezzling more than $22 million of the pro football team’s money and blowing it on fantasy sports is now suing FanDuel for “ceaselessly enticing” him to gamble it all away.

Amit Patel says the online betting platform inundated him with “relentless financial incentives, lavish trips, event tickets and other gifts” worth more than $1.1 million, according to a $250 million lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.

Among other perks, FanDuel paid for Patel to attend the Super Bowl, a Formula One Grand Prix event in Miami, the 2023 NCAA College Football Playoff championship game and the 2021 and 2022 Masters Tournaments, the complaint states. It noted that Patel was also given a “customized basketball jersey with [Patel’s] FanDuel username” on the back — all of which were meant to “creat[e] the illusion that [Patel] was a successful gambler.”

Patel, 31, lost some $20 million between late 2019 and early 2023, “as his gambling addiction disorder was exploited by Defendants and grew progressively worse,” according to the complaint.

FanDuel knew Patel worked for the Jaguars, knew he wasn’t allowed to bet on football, knew he was a gambling addict, and should have known the money Patel was betting was stolen, but purposely ignored all the signs, leading to “the complete devastation of [his] professional, personal, and financial life,” Patel’s complaint argues.

“The goal of the suit is a fair apportionment of responsibility among all responsible parties,” Patel’s attorney Matthew Litt told The Independent. “The suit certainly does not contend that Amit is blameless. But right now, Amit is facing 100 percent of the consequences for what happened while FanDuel is facing none — despite FanDuel’s very active role in Amit’s gambling disorder. The objective is not just to balance things out in Amit’s case, but to stop FanDuel from actively enticing addicted gamblers in the future.”

The complaint specifically calls out FanDuel VIP host Brett Krause, who allegedly texted with Patel as often as 100 times a day, reaching out to him to “find out why he was not gambling” if his activity slowed down.

The messages “frequently began first thing in the morning, and continued throughout the day until late at night,” the complaint states. Krause knew what he was doing was questionable, because he moved his conversations with Patel from his work phone to his personal cell, a way to avoid inquiries from FanDuel’s compliance department, according to the complaint.

However, Krause’s lawyer on Tuesday took aim at Patel, describing him as a swindler who can’t be trusted.

“Amit Patel is a convicted fraudster and it’s no surprise his complaint is full of misrepresentations,” Krause’s attorney Theresa Trzaskoma told The Independent. “He lied about his life to Brett Krause, who at the time was a low-level FanDuel employee. Mr. Patel defrauded Mr. Krause, just as he did the Jaguars.”

FanDuel did not respond to a request for comment.

Although Patel was living a life of luxury, his gambling addiction “caused him constant agony” over the four years in question, the complaint says. Still, his scheme afforded him a condo in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, private jet travel, a new Tesla Model 3 sedan, cryptocurrency investments, NFTs, electronics, sports memorabilia, a country club membership, spa treatments, concert tickets, home furnishings, luxury wrist watches and a defense lawyer to fight his criminal case, none of which Patel reported on his tax returns, prosecutors said.

FanDuel, according to the complaint, “was not passive” in encouraging Patel’s obvious addiction. It says the company’s precise data tracking and analytics certainly would have recognized that Patel “specifically displayed the hallmark symptoms of a problem gambler.”

Patel was fired by the Jaguars in February 2023. His complaint says he has not placed a bet since March 21, 2023 — nine days after he was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison on charges of wire fraud and making an illegal monetary transaction —  and that he was diagnosed with severe gambling disorder the following month.

The Jaguars filed suit in July against Patel, alleging fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty and civil theft and demanding $66 million in payment.

Patel has so far reimbursed the team for $1.89 million of the $22,221,454.40 he stole, according to prosecutors.

His lawsuit alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, conspiracy to commit tort and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. He is demanding $250 million, plus penalties and interest.