Ex-Jaguars worker who stole $22M from team sues FanDuel, saying it preyed on his gambling addiction
A former financial manager for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars who stole $22 million from the team is suing FanDuel for $250 million, alleging the gambling company took advantage of his gambling addiction.
Amit Patel, who is serving a 6 1/2-year prison sentence in South Carolina, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in New York claiming that FanDuel ignored its own responsible gambling and anti-money laundering protocols and knew that Patel was an employee was on the NFL team and therefore ineligible to gamble legally, and knew that the $20 million he had wagered on years of daily fantasy sports contests may or may not have been stolen from a legitimate source.
FanDuel declined comment, citing ongoing litigation.
The lawsuit alleged that FanDuel gave Patel more than $1.1 million in gambling credits and bombarded him with enticements to gamble more, including having his personal host contact him up to 100 times a day.
“The complaint certainly does not allege that the addicted gambler is blameless, but the lawsuit does attempt to apportion responsibility in a manner that explains FanDuel’s very active involvement in his gambling addiction,” said Patel’s attorney, Matthew Litt.
The lawsuit says that several times, when Patel had not yet placed a bet that day, his host called him to ask why not. These communications began early in the morning and continued well into the night, the lawsuit said.
It says New York-based FanDuel gave Patel gifts including trips to the Super Bowl, the Masters golf tournament, auto racing and college basketball tournaments.
Patel pleaded guilty to fraud and other charges in December and agreed to pay back the money he stole from the team.
His lawsuit is very similar to other legal actions filed in recent years by compulsive gamblers who blamed casinos or online gambling companies for exploiting their addictions.
In September 2008, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former New York lawyer who claimed that seven casinos had a legal duty to prevent her from gambling when they knew she was addicted.
And in February, a lawsuit filed by the same attorney representing Patel in the current case against FanDuel was dismissed after he claimed that Atlantic City casinos had a legal duty to shut down gambling addicts.
Similar lawsuits have been dismissed in other states.
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