Belkis Plata weighs in on Former Jaguars employee accused of stealing $22 million to be sentenced Tuesday morning
Belkis Plata, an attorney not associated with the case, said the judge will consider both arguments when deciding on Patel’s sentence.
“I mean, just because you argue something doesn’t mean it’s something the judge is going to rely on. The judge is going to use his common sense and try to find out what is the most just sentence for this offense for this defendant, understanding everything that he knows about him,” Plata said.
Patel was in charge of the organization’s virtual credit card program. Prosecutors say over a period of three years, he used that program to make hundreds of purchases on the Jaguars’ dime.
Then to hide what he did, he created and emailed falsified accounting records to Jaguars representatives. He was fired in February of last year after FanDuel alerted the team to the missing money.
“It shows a level of sophistication, a level of premeditation, the ability to go in and do whatever it is you want to do, and then go back and change it so that no one will see it. I think that’s an argument that the government will make. This was a planned scheme to defraud an institution,” Plata said.
While a financial crime may seem victimless, Plata said that money ultimately belonged to the Jaguars, and they are a victim of this crime.
“Who knows what they would have spent that money on. That was their money...and who knows if they’ll ever get that money back.
Federal law prohibits cameras in federal courtrooms, but News4JAX will be in court tomorrow for Patel’s sentencing.