Former Yale professor charged with theft while working at New York City med school

The New Haven Register reports:

A Hamden resident and former Yale University professor was charged with embezzling tens of thousands of dollars of federal grants and funds from a New York City medical school for his personal use, according to a federal press release.

Alexander Neumeister, 51, is charged with theft of government funds and wire fraud as well as civil claims under the False Claims Act, through which the government may recover damages and civil penalties arising from his alleged conduct, the release said. He was arrested on Nov. 21 and appeared in federal court Tuesday. Contacted Thursday by the New Haven Register, he said it was too early to comment.

Neumeister, a prominent researcher into neurological disorders, was an associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Molecular Imagine Program of the Clinical Neuroscience Division at Yale until 2010. During this time period, he received more than $3 million in grants and awards for his research and work at the university, according to past issues of the Yale School of Medicine’s newsletters.

When asked if Yale University would review the funds Neumeister received while employed at the university, Tom Conroy, the school’s director of public affairs and communications, declined comment.

Mistakes were made.