Ex-Yale employee used $40M in stolen tech equipment to fund lavish lifestyle

A former Yale College worker admitted to pilfering greater than $40 million value of electronics from the Ivy League college – after which utilizing the proceeds of her scheme to fund a lavish life-style that included luxurious vehicles, ritzy actual property and journey.

Jamie Petrone, a 42-year-old former director of finance and administration at Yale med college’s division of emergency drugs, pleaded responsible to federal prices of wire fraud and submitting a false tax return.

In whole, Petrone’s scheme price Yale about $40.5 million. As a part of her responsible plea, the ex-administrator forfeited greater than $560,000 and turned over a fleet of high-end vehicles – together with two Mercedes Benzes, two Cadillac Escalades, a Vary Rover and Dodge Charger.

Petrone additionally agreed to unload three properties in Connecticut as restitution. A fourth property she owns in Georgia additionally could possibly be seized and bought.

The feds stated Petrone, whose position approved her to make tools purchases for her division so long as the entire worth was under $10,000, both purchased or directed workers to purchase tech hardware utilizing the college’s cash.

Petrone would use her place to say that Yale’s med college required the tools, similar to iPads and Microsoft Floor tablets, to assist carry out medical research and different wants.

Petrone's lavish truck.
Petrone forfeited greater than $560,000 and turned over a fleet of high-end vehicles – together with two Mercedes Benzes, two Cadillac Escalades, a Vary Rover and Dodge Charger.
Yale School of Medicine
Petrone’s position approved her to make tools purchases for her division so long as the entire worth was under $10,000 at a time.
Corbis through Getty Photos

Later, the products had been shipped to an unnamed out-of-state enterprise, which bought the tools for money and wired the proceeds to an account managed by Maziv Leisure – the place Petrone was listed as a principal.

Yale first questioned Petrone about suspicious transactions in 2020 and later obtained an nameless tip in regards to the excessive quantity of apparatus orders, triggering an inner investigation.

Petrone advised FBI investigators final August that she carried out the scheme for “a number of years, probably as many as 10 years” and famous that “roughly 90% of her computer-related purchases had been fraudulent,” in accordance with an affidavit seen by the Hartford Courant.

“Yale initially alerted authorities to proof of suspected felony conduct final 12 months and totally cooperated all through the investigation,” a Yale spokesperson advised the outlet concerning the case. “The college thanks native regulation enforcement, the FBI, and the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for his or her dealing with of the case. Because the incident, Yale has labored to establish and proper gaps in its inner monetary controls.”

Federal officers stated Petrone by no means paid taxes on the cash she obtained in trade for the stolen tools. She filed a number of fraudulent returns claiming the price of the stolen tools as a enterprise expense and didn’t file federal tax returns in any respect from 2017 by way of 2020.

Petrone was launched on $1 million bond previous to her sentencing, which is slated for June.

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