Over several years, Petters made millions of dollars in payments on gift pledges totaling $14 million in honor of his son, John, a Miami student who died in 2004 during a trip to Italy, and his daughter, Jennifer.
The gift pledges supported by Petters include a $10 million pledge in 2004 to create the John T. Petters Center for Leadership, Ethics and Skills Development; and a $4 million pledge in 2006 to create the Jennifer Petters Chair in Asian Business.
“The university has no interest in keeping money that Mr. Petters obtained by fraud or deceit,” said Miami President David Hodge in a release.
Terry O’Toole, president of the Miami University Foundation board of directors, agreed “the foundation does not intend to keep any remaining funds from Mr. Petters that were obtained illegally.”
The Miami University Foundation invested the $5 million it received of the $10 million pledge to establish the John T. Petters Center for Leadership, Ethics and Skills Development within the university’s Farmer School of Business, according to Miami spokeswoman Claire Wagner.
The foundation only received one payment of $200,000 toward the $4 million pledge to establish the Jennifer Petters chair, she said.
According to a statement from the university, “Miami University and the Miami University Foundation look forward to having in-depth discussions with the receiver in this case to determine the amount to be returned.”