- A former Yale employee is accused of stealing and selling $40 million worth of electronics.
- Jamie Petrone pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return.
- Officials said Petrone ordered electronics through the school and shipped it to a business for profit.
A former Yale University employee accused of stealing $40 million worth of electronic hardware and selling it for profit to finance her luxury lifestyle pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.
Jamie Petrone pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return, the news release said, following an alleged ploy that dates back to 2013.
The 42-year-old of Lithia Springs, Georgis, started working at Yale School of Medicine's department of emergency in 2008, with her most recent title serving as the director of finance and administration, according to the news release. Her duties included authorizing purchases for the department below $10,000.
"Beginning at least as early as 2013, Petrone engaged in a scheme whereby she ordered or caused others working for her to order, millions of dollars of electronic hardware from Yale vendors using Yale Med funds and arranged to ship the stolen hardware to an out-of-state business in exchange for money," officials said in the news release.
Petrone, per the news release, falsely represented on the school's forms that the hardware was needed for the department and "broke up the fraudulent purchases into orders below the $10,000 threshold that would require additional approval."
The business sold the stolen hardware and wired money to Petrone through an account, Maziv Entertainment, in which she is a principal, according to the news release. The scheme cost the institution an estimated $40,504,200 and officials say she used the money to go on trips and purchase real estate as well as luxury cars.
In addition, according to the news release, Petrone did not pay taxes for the stole items. Officials noted that she filed false federal tax returns from 2013 to 2016 — falsely labeling the items as business expenses — but failed to do so between 2017 to 2020 which cost the US Treasury more than $6 million. She was arrested in 2021 but was released on a $1million bond. She is set to be sentenced in June.
According to the news release, Petrone's six cars, including a 2014 Mercedes-Benz G550, a 2018 Dodge Charger, and a 2020 Mercedes Benz Model E450A was agreed to be seized. Additionally, she is expected to forfeit more than $500,000 as well as liquidate three of her properties that are located in Connecticut, and one located in Georgia.