NUMC trustee Steve Cohn resigns after he's suspended from practicing law

Longtime Nassau University Medical Center trustee Steve Cohn resigned Wednesday, days after a state court suspended him from practicing law for mismanaging a paralegal who attempted to steal tens of thousands of dollars, among other violations.

"It’s been a pleasure serving on the board for so many years," Cohn told Newsday, noting he spoke with the hospital’s CEO Meg Ryan on Wednesday.

The Nassau County Legislature appointed Cohn in 2009 as a trustee at the cash-strapped hospital, which is facing threats of a state takeover.

Cohn, an attorney who runs his own law practice, is suspended from practicing law for six months beginning April 18 and barred from applying for reinstatement until Sept. 18. The court order was issued on March 19. Cohn told Newsday he plans to apply for reinstatement in the fall.

Court records show Cohn’s longtime paralegal — who Newsday is not naming since they were never charged, and was responsible for overseeing the firm’s operating bank account and one of Cohn’s commercial bank accounts — wrote $50,000 in checks "for her own benefit" between July and September of 2020.

The checks bounced due to insufficient funds, and a state court’s Grievance Committee launched an investigation. The paralegal did not tell Cohn, 76, what she did nor that an investigation was underway, he said.

When the check bounced, the paralegal secretly transferred $20,000 from the firm’s account to the commercial account to "cover the deficit," according to court records. She then instructed clients to transfer $25,000 in legal fees to that account to replenish the fund and destroyed relevant bank records.

"She called up a client, unbeknownst to me, to try and cover the money," Cohn told Newsday.

A part-time bookkeeper at the firm eventually told Cohn about the paralegal’s actions and the state investigation she’d allegedly kept under wraps. Cohn told Newsday he deposited $50,000 of his own personal money to make up the funds.

After the paralegal confessed, Cohn fired her, he said.

Cohn has denied in court mixing personal and business funds. He testified he wasn’t aware of any wrongdoing and that he’s since changed the colors of his checks associated with each account to prevent future confusion, though a state court said the stolen funds did not occur "due to any confusion of checks."

"It never dawned on me that she would be stealing money," Cohn said, describing the paralegal as a "good friend" and "phenomenal" employee of 28 years who did whatever it took to make clients happy.

In return, "clients had bought a car for [her], taken her on vacation, or lent her money," according to court records.

Cohn chaired the Legal and Audit Committee and the Governance Committee for the hospital, court records show. The Nassau Health Care Corporation, which oversees NUMC, removed Cohn from his committees before he resigned, virtually suspending his activities as a trustee, a spokesperson told Newsday.

He submitted his resignation via email to Ryan, the hospital’s CEO, at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday shortly after speaking to Newsday, according to a copy of the email provided by NUMC.

NHCC could not legally remove Cohn from the hospital’s board. That authority lies with the legislature. 

“I understand that Mr. Cohn has resigned and we will immediately begin a search to fill the vacancy,"  legislature Presiding Officer Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence) wrote in a statement to Newsday.

Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that the paralegal that had worked for Steve Cohn attempted to steal funds since they were unsuccessful in acquiring the funds.