NYS AG's office investigating Nassau University Medical Center's former leadership

The state Attorney General’s Office is conducting an investigation related to Nassau University Medical Center, a spokesperson at the agency said.

The attorney general's office declined to provide information about the scope of the probe.

But sources familiar with the probe told Newsday it involves the former executive leadership’s alleged misuse of public hospital funds for dinners, travel and generous payments upon their departure.

Agency officials have interviewed current and former hospital staff, sources said.

The sources requested anonymity for fear of reprisal and weren't authorized to speak about the investigation.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James' Public Integrity Bureau is leading the probe, according to a spokesperson. That division of the agency is focused on corruption and fraud involving public entities, according to its website, and can bring both civil and criminal cases.

An attorney for Megan Ryan, the hospital’s former CEO, said in an emailed statement that staff from the state Attorney General’s Office had not communicated with Ryan, but that "we are confident that Ms. Ryan will be exonerated.”

The attorney, Kenneth Abell, added, "Throughout her time at the Hospital, Ms. Ryan consistently acted lawfully and with the good faith belief that her actions served the best interests of the Hospital, its staff and its patients.”

A spokesperson for the hospital declined to comment on the investigation.

Last year, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation transferring control of the hospital’s board from county to state lawmakers over the objections of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and other Republican lawmakers.

That led to a shake-up of the hospital’s board of directors and the tumultuous departure of roughly a dozen of the hospital’s top executives, including Ryan, in May last year.

Ryan had led the hospital since 2024, after Blakeman appointee Matthew Bruderman, the former chair of the hospital’s board of directors, tapped her to be CEO. Bruderman could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Blakeman spokesperson Chris Boyle said in a text message to Newsday that "Kathy Hochul deflects from her failed leadership, especially when it comes to the healthcare of our residents.” Blakeman is the Republican nominee for governor running against Hochul.

Blakeman did not respond to questions about the probe at an event on Wednesday.

In lawsuits filed last year, NUMC’s new leaders accused Ryan and other former executives of using the public safety-net facility’s funds to improperly enrich themselves upon leaving the hospital. The lawsuit against Ryan sought $10 million in punitive damages. 

The suit also accused the hospital’s former leadership of destroying hospital documents and data before orchestrating a mass resignation "to create an operational crisis at NUMC.” The former executives have disputed those allegations.

Ryan and other former leaders also used public hospital funds to pay for travel and a lobster dinner, Newsday reported in July 2025. Ryan used hospital funds to reimburse herself $7,800 for round-trip tickets for herself and two other executives to attend a Chicago healthcare conference — a trip they allegedly never went on, according to the lawsuit.

The night before Hochul appointed new leadership to the hospital’s board, several top NUMC executives dined at a Manhattan restaurant, running up a bill of nearly $1,500, including $175 lobster and $68 wagyu  steak, Newsday also reported. The hospital’s then-chief financial officer approved reimbursement for that meal.

One of the state’s most financially challenged hospitals, NUMC serves a disproportionate number of Medicaid and Medicare patients and has lost millions of dollars on a near-annual basis. The facility has been dogged by chronic mismanagement, frequent leadership turnover and questionable spending decisions, Newsday has reported.

Newsday's Sandra Peddie and Maureen Mullarkey contributed to this story.