Former Jacksonville Jaguars Executive Stole $22 million Using Team's Virtual Credit Card; Here's How

NFL is one of the richest sports leagues across the globe and millions change hands during deals for teams, sponsorship, and players. So much cash moving around also creates a breeding ground for potential fraud and outright theft that taints the sporting world. One such act was pulled off by an ex-Jacksonville Jaguars executive, who stole $22 million from the team over four years, as per Sportico.com. He allegedly stole the funds using the team's virtual credit card also known as the VCC program.

Amit Patel, the former executive now faces two felony charges, one of wire fraud and the other of illegal monetary transaction. He could also face 30 years in prison if convicted and then sentenced to the maximum amount. 

Patel who was serving as the manager of the Jaguars’ financial planning and analysis, worked for the team from 2018 to February of this year after which he was fired, as per the reports. 

As per the prosecutors, Patel was responsible for various financial-related tasks including overseeing department budgets and administering the VCC program. 

How did he use the VCC program To Steal Millions of Dollars?

The VCC uses a single-use card number and also a CVV code. This program is designed specifically to facilitate vendor payments and also to complete other routine business expenses. 

Patel, who was the sole administrator of the VCC program, used the fact that other employees needed his approval and that he was the only one “entrusted with the ability to create user accounts."

Kept on faking invoice files for four years

During a span of four years, Patel kept on falling invoice files and mailed them to the Jaguars’ accounting department. The accounts were apparently on point as he also ensured that the total amount of the VCC expenditure matched the balances paid by the Jaguars.

Prosecutors later said in their charge sheet that he was suing a duplication strategy in which he was also repeating charges of airfare and hotels.

Patel used the ill-gotten gains to buy real estate in Ponte Vedra Beach and also luxury cars like Tesla, as well as a luxury wristwatch worth $95,484.15 from Patek Philippe Nautilus. 

It's still surprising how Patel could continue faking the invoice for four years before finally catching attention. It's also unclear why the internal audits did not raise any questions about what was happening. 

The prosecution of Amit Patel will require testimony and other evidence. Only these materials can shed light on how Patel committed this crime. 

What can businesses do to avoid such scams?

Many companies are slowly choosing to buy insurance and business crime coverage to insure the risk of an employee causing massive financial loss such as this one. This insurance can protect businesses from such scams and crimes. Other risk management steps could include thorough background checks, and thorough audits, establishing an anonymous reporting system can also be useful for tips. Monitoring the business credit is also extremely important to catch any theft that can happen as soon as it happens. Another thing that a business could do is divide the sensitive duties so that only one person doesn't have the entire authority. Businesses can also train their employees to prevent fraud and theft. In extremely tough fraud cases, businesses can always get expert help.