Yale worker stole $40 million worth of school computers to fund a lavish lifestyle

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According to prosecutors.

On Monday, Jamie Petrone, 42, of Lithia Springs, Georgia, pleaded guilty to cable fraud and filing a false tax return, according to the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.

Petrone is accused of implementing an eight-year plan in 2013, with Yale losses totaling $40,504,200.

Authorities said she began working in the school’s emergency medicine branch five years earlier, in 2008, and most recently worked as head of the finance and administration branch.

Petrone had the “power to make and authorize secure acquisitions as per the wishes of the branch, provided the amount purchased is less than $10,000,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a press release.

She began ordering, herself or through other staff members, millions of electronic devices with Yale Medicine funds, arranging for the parts to be shipped to a company in neighboring New York state in exchange for payment. The New York-based company then resold the electronics, adding Microsoft Surface Pro tablets and iPads.

Prosecutors said the New York-based company sent the cash to Maziv Entertainment LLC, of which Petrone is one of the main ones. He allegedly incorrectly stated in the internal bureaucracy and electronic communications that the curtains were intended for the Faculty of Medicine. an order of less than $10,000 to avoid oversight, the Justice Department said.

The U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut said it used the cash for real estate, cars and travel.

It forced the surrender of six vehicles: two Mercedes-Benz, two Cadillac Escalades, as well as a Dodge Charger and a Range Rover.

The U. S. Department of the Treasury The U. S. Lost More Than $6 Million because it did not pay taxes on the stolen funds, the Justice Department added. They said he filed erroneous federal tax returns between 2013 and 2016, claiming the business expenses of the stolen device. Between 2017 and 2020, she did not register a federal return, prosecutors added.

The investigation began in August last year and was conducted through the FBI and IRS. An affidavit in the case states that Petrone voluntarily said he estimated about 90 percent of his electronics purchases were part of the fraudulent scheme.

After being arrested in September 2021, she was released on $1 million bail pending conviction.

In addition to the luxury vehicles, $560,000 was also seized from Maziv Entertainment LLC’s bank account.

“He also agreed to liquidate 3 Connecticut homes that he owns or co-owns to fulfill his restitution obligation,” the Justice Department said Monday. “An asset you own in Georgia is also subject to seizure and liquidation. “

Petrone’s attorney, Frank Riccio, told NBC News on Wednesday that she “accepted duty for her movements and felt remorse. “

“She is now ahead of the conviction and reparation of some of the damages that have been caused,” the lawyer added.

The maximum penalty for cable fraud is 20 years in criminal matters and the longest sentence for filing a false tax return is 3 years. Petrone is due to be sentenced on June 29.

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