FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 13, 2025
Former Chairman of Emergency Medicine at SUNY Downstate
Medical Center Admits to Stealing Nearly $1.5 Million
Used Business Credit Card for Purchases Ranging from a High-End Pet Resort to
Personal Travel, Catering Expenses, College Tuition and Cash Advances
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, together with New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Acting Commissioner Amanda Hiller, today announced that a now retired emergency medicine doctor has pleaded guilty to grand larceny for stealing approximately $1.44 million by using a business credit card for personal purchases and cash advances. The plea was in exchange for a promised sentence of one to three years in prison.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “The defendant used his employment with a vital healthcare institution to gain access to more than $1 million to fund a lavish lifestyle. Today’s guilty plea is an admission of his violation of the public trust by using his position to steal from taxpayers and SUNY Downstate. I thank my prosecutors, the Inspector General’s Office, and the Tax Department for their work on this case.”
Inspector General Lang said, “New Yorkers expect public servants, especially those entrusted with critical healthcare responsibilities, to act with honesty and integrity. Dr. Lucchesi’s admitted theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the State represents a serious breach of public trust. This guilty plea is a clear message that abuse of public funds will not be tolerated and those responsible will be held accountable.”
Acting Commissioner Hiller said, “Let this serve as a warning to any taxpayers considering lining their pockets for personal gain. The defendant repeatedly took advantage of his position and is being held accountable. I commend the dedicated work of our NYS Tax Investigators, and thank Brooklyn DA Gonzalez and New York State IG Lang for their diligent efforts in this case.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Dr. Michael Lucchesi, 67, of Staten Island. He pleaded guilty today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Danny Chun to one count of first-degree grand larceny in exchange for a promised sentence of one to three years in prison. The defendant had been indicted on charges including grand larceny, falsifying business records and criminal tax fraud. In addition, the defendant agreed to make restitution in the amount of $720,000, which included restitution of $63,926 made today to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and restitution of $656,074 to Downstate Hospital’s clinical practice on August 6, 2025, when he is sentenced.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, between December 1, 2016 and January 31, 2023, the defendant, a medical doctor, who was the Chairman of Emergency Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and at various points was the acting head of Downstate Hospital and the medical school, and was the Chief Medical Officer, made personal purchases using a credit card meant to be used for business purposes only by members of the clinical practice, University Physicians of Brooklyn, of SUNY Downstate.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, the defendant’s spending totaled approximately $1.44 million and included cash advances of approximately $115,000; pet care totaling $176,000 (including $120,000 paid to The Greenleaf Pet Resort & Hotel in New Jersey); $348,000 spent on personal travel; $109,000 in payments to the New York Sports Club for membership and personal training; $92,000 for premium seating for sporting events, concerts and Broadway shows; $52,000 in catering expenses; $46,000 in tuition payments for his children; and assorted payments for online shopping, flowers, liquor, electronics and other items.
The thefts were discovered by SUNY during an audit.
The District Attorney thanked Investigative Counsel Thomas Collery, Senior Investigative Auditor Angelus Okeke, Investigative Auditor Victoria Oliva, and Senior Investigator Jimmy Gibson, under the supervision of Chief of Investigations for the Downstate Regional Offices Ben Defibaugh, Deputy Inspector General for the New York City Regional Office Ken Michaels, and Chief Deputy Inspector General Michele Bayer of the Offices of the New York State Inspector General for their work on the case.
The District Attorney also thanked the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Criminal Investigations Division.
The District Attorney thanked KCDA Chief Financial Investigator Ludwig Sanchez, Financial Investigator Jose Carlos Covas, Assistant District Attorney Dewey Golkin, Director of the Crimes Against Revenue Bureau, as well as KCDA Detective Investigators and Paralegal Jezebel Negrete-Ugaz, for their assistance on the case.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Michael Choi and Assistant District Attorney Andrew Kohler, both Special Counsel to the District Attorney’s Investigations Division, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Chief of the Investigations Division.
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