Who was watching the budget? Yale administrator steals $40 million worth of computer equipment
The United States Department of Justice announced on March 28 that a former administrator at the Yale University School of Medicine pled guilty to fraud and tax offenses after stealing more than $40 million worth of computer and electronic hardware from the school.
The Justice Department’s statement explained that Jamie Petrone, age 42, began working for the Yale University School of Medicine in approximately 2008, and by 2013 she began the $40-million scheme. Petrone worked in the finance and administration department of the school’s department of emergency medicine and “had authority to make and authorize certain purchases for department needs as long as the purchase amount was below $10,000,” the DoJ said. Petrone “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,” the Justice Department said.
“As part of the scheme, Petrone falsely represented on Yale internal forms and in electronic communications that the hardware was for specified Yale Med needs, such as particular medical studies,” the Justice Department said, adding, “she broke up the fraudulent purchases into orders below the $10,000 threshold that would require additional approval.” The out-of-state business paid Maziv Entertainment, which Petrone owns, for the hardware. “In total, Petrone caused a loss of approximately $40,504,200 to Yale,” according to the DoJ, which also said she used the ill-gotten proceeds for personal expenses including automobiles, real estate, and travel. She also got bagged for not reporting the income, and thereby not paying taxes on it. The DoJ said Petrone owes $6,416,618 in taxes to the United States Treasury.
The DoJ added that Petrone has forfeited the following property.
- $560,421.14 (which had been seized from Maziv Entertainment’s bank account)
- A 2014 Mercedes Benz G550
- A 2017 Land Rover/Range Rover SVAutobiography
- A 2015 Cadillac Escalade Premium
- A 2020 Mercedes Benz Model E450
- A 2016 Cadillac Escalade 4-door Sport
- A 2018 Dodge Charger
She also agreed to liquidate three properties in Connecticut that she owns or co-owns. The DoJ added that a property Petrone owns in Georgia is subject to seizure and liquidation.
She was arrested in September 2021 and remains released on a $1 million bond pending sentencing.
You can read the Department of Justice’s full statement here.
