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Former Yale Employee Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Allegedly Stole Over $40 Million In Equipment

(Photo by Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS)

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A former Yale University School of Medicine employee pled guilty to one count of wire fraud Monday after she allegedly stole $40,504,200 in electronic equipment, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

Jamie Petrone, who served as the school’s Director of Finance and Administration in the Department of Emergency Medicine, allegedly ran a scheme where she ordered millions of dollars of computers and electronics using the school’s money, according to a press release from the DOJ. Petrone or one of her colleagues purchased the equipment and then sent it to another business for money, the release said.

In her role as Director of Finance and Administration, Petrone was able to make purchases as long as they were under $10,000 according to the release. She allegedly broke up the orders to keep the amount under $10,000 and avoid the need for additional approval. Petrone also falsely claimed that the hardware was intended for use by the medical school on internal forms and electronic communications, according to the DOJ.

Petrone launched the scheme as early as 2013, the release indicated. Petrone sent the electronics to an out-of-state business which then re-sold the equipment and wired money into an account belonging to Maziv Entertainment, LLC. Petrone is a principal at the company.

Petrone used the money she received for a variety of personal expenses, including cars, travel and real estate, the DOJ said. (RELATED: Yale Graduate Allegedly Ran Hedge Fund Scam, Raised More Than $1 Million)

Yale University spokesperson Karen Peart said the University alerted authorities about Petrone’s suspected criminal behavior in 2021, according to Yale Daily News. In addition, Peart said the University has “worked to identify and correct gaps in its internal financial controls.”

Besides wire fraud, Petrone pled guilty to filing a false tax return, NBC News reported. Petrone did not pay taxes on the stolen equipment and then later claimed the costs of the stolen equipment as business expenses on false tax returns filed from 2013 to 2016, the outlet said.

Petrone will be sentenced on June 29, according to the DOJ.