Former Chairman of Emergency Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center Charged for Allegedly Stealing Almost $1.5 Million

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that a SUNY Downstate emergency medicine doctor has been charged with grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly stealing approximately $1.448 million by using a business credit card for personal purchases and cash advances.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, “As a high-ranking doctor at this vital healthcare institution this defendant was entrusted with access to significant funds, which he allegedly exploited, stealing more than one million dollars to pay for a lavish lifestyle. The scope of the alleged thefts is shocking, and my office is committed to holding accountable anyone who rips off the taxpayers. I am grateful to the Inspector General’s Office for its partnership on this case.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Dr. Michael Lucchesi, 66, of Staten Island. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Donald Leo on a nine-count indictment in which he is charged with first- and second-degree grand larceny, first-degree falsifying business records and third-degree criminal tax fraud. The defendant was released without bail and ordered to return to court on September 25, 2024.

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 $1.448 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; $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 alleged 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 thanked KCDA Chief Financial Investigator Ludwig Sanchez for his assistance on the case.    

The case is being 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.