Ex-Yale Med School employee pleads guilty in $40 million theft

PHOTO | Courtesy Yale School of Medicine Yale School of Medicine

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By Liese Klein

A former Naugatuck resident pleaded guilty Monday to charges relating to the theft of $40 million in computers and hardware from her former employer, the Yale School of Medicine.

Jamie Petrone, 42, who currently resides in Lithia Springs, Ga., pleaded guilty Monday in Hartford federal court to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return, according to a joint statement by the United States Attorney, the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation division.

Petrone faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud count and up to three years on the tax count. U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant is scheduled to sentence her on June 29.

Petrone, who has previously been referred to by the name Jamie Petrone-Codrington, started working at the Yale medical school in 2008 and rose to the post of director of finance and administration for the department of emergency medicine.

According to the charging documents, Petrone launched a scheme starting in 2013 in which she and her subordinates ordered millions of dollars of electronic hardware from Yale vendors using medical school funds, claiming the goods were needed for Yale studies.

Petrone then allegedly arranged to ship the electronics to an out-of-state business in exchange for money that went into accounts that she controlled. She spent the proceeds on expensive cars, real estate and travel, according to investigators.

Petrone was also accused of failing to pay taxes on the money she received from selling the stolen equipment and filing falsified tax returns from 2013 through 2016. The loss to the U.S. treasury was estimated at $6,416,618.

Out on a $1 million bond pending sentencing, Petrone has agreed to forfeit $560,421 in cash, a 2014 Mercedes-Benz G550, a 2017 Land Rover/Range Rover Sv Autobiography, a 2015 Cadillac Escalade Premium, a 2020 Mercedes Benz Model E450A, a 2016 Cadillac Escalade and a 2018 Dodge Charger.

Under her plea deal, Petrone must also sell three Connecticut properties that she owns or co-owns to pay restitution. A property she owns in Georgia is also subject to seizure and liquidation.

Yale estimated its total loss from the scheme at about $40,504,200. Petrone was arrested by criminal complaint on September 3, 2021. The FBI and IRS with the assistance of the Yale Police Department investigated the case with prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Novick.

Petrone’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.