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Jamie Petrone, age 43, a former resident of Naugatuck, was sentenced on Thursday, Oct. 13, to nine years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for wire fraud and filing a false tax return, according to Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut.
She pleaded guilty to the charges on March 28.
- Earlier report - Former Yale Med School Employee Admits Stealing, Selling $40 Million In Electronics
Petrone served as the director of Finance and Administration for the Department of Emergency Medicine and was able to make and authorize certain purchases for departmental needs as long as the purchase was less than $10,000, according to the report.
"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 she arranged to ship the stolen hardware to an out-of-state business in exchange for money," the US Attorney's Office said.
According to the US Attorney's Office, Petrone would falsely report that the hardware was for Yale Med's needs, and she would break up the purchases into orders below the $10,000 threshold.
She caused a loss of about $40,504,200 to Yale, Avery said.
Petrone then used the proceeds of sales of the stolen equipment for personal expenses, including real estate, travel, and expensive cars, the US Attorney's Office reported.
She also did not pay taxes for the funds she received from the scheme, filing false federal tax returns for the 2013 through 2016 tax years, Avery said.
In the tax returns, she falsely claimed the costs of the stolen equipment as business expenses, according to the report.
She also failed to file any federal tax returns for the 2017 through 2020 tax years, Avery said.
Avery said Petrone was arrested on Sept. 3, 2021.
The US Attorney's Office said Petrone was also ordered to make full restitution, and she agreed to forfeit:
- $560,421.14 that was seized from the Maziv Entertainment LLC bank account as part of the investigation
- 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 (Four-Door Sport)
- A 2018 Dodge Charger
"She also has agreed to the liquidation of three Connecticut properties that she owns or co-owns to help satisfy her restitution obligation," the US Attorney's Office said. "A property she owns in Georgia is also subject to seizure and liquidation."
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, with the assistance of the Yale Police Department, according to the report.
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