Former Administrator for Yale Medicine Pleads Guilty to Stealing $40 Million From School
“She will be sentenced at a later date and will pay restitution to Yale University and the IRS”
That’s an impressive haul for an embezzler, even if she did it over a period of ten years.
The Yale Daily News reports:
Former School of Medicine administrator pleads guilty to stealing $40 million from the University
A former Yale School of Medicine employee pleaded guilty on Monday to fraud and tax offenses after stealing $40 million in computer and electronic software from the school over a nearly ten-year period.
The former administrator, Jamie Petrone-Codrington, pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. Arrested by criminal complaint on Sept. 3, 2021, Petrone-Codrington was released on a $1 million bond pending sentencing. In 2008, Petrone-Codrington was employed by the Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine and most recently served as the Director of Finance and Administration for the department. According to the DOJ press release, Petrone-Codrington had the authority to make and authorize purchases up to $10,000 for departmental needs. Beginning as early as 2013, Petrone-Codrington illegally purchased and resold the hardware using funds from the School of Medicine. In total, Petrone-Codrington caused a loss of approximately $40,504,200 to Yale and a loss of $6,416,618 to the U.S. Treasury.
“Petrone-Codrington pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. She will be sentenced at a later date and will pay restitution to Yale University and the IRS,” University spokesperson Karen Peart said. “Yale initially alerted authorities to evidence of suspected criminal behavior last year and fully cooperated throughout the investigation. The University thanks local law enforcement, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their handling of the case. Since the incident, Yale has worked to identify and correct gaps in its internal financial controls.”
The DOJ alleged that as part of the scheme, Petrone-Codrington falsified Yale internal forms and electronic communications to claim that the hardware was for medical school needs, such as medical studies. She broke up the fraudulent purchases into orders below the $10,000 threshold that would necessitate additional approval. An out-of-state business, which resold the electronic equipment to customers, paid Petrone-Codrington by wiring funds into an account of a company in which she is a principal, Maziv Entertainment LLC.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Is it just me, or are the “shes” in these types of fraud and embezzlement reports significantly outnumbering the “hes” these days?
Donors and taxpayers should be thrilled with Yale’s stewardship of their funds over a dozen years. The medical school’s attention was more likely focused on psychoanalyzing Donald Trump.
“That’s an impressive haul for an embezzler, even if she did it over a period of ten years.” it speaks to a lack of financial controls.
It’s hard to say if all organizations that have lax financial controls eventually get taken, however, because at some the controls are so lax that they never learn they’ve been taken.
I have to admire an executive who exploited her authority to make $10,000 purchases to the tune of a $40,000,000 embezzelment. Clearly a woman of vision and intricate math skills.