Feds Subpoena Company Whose Execs Made Big Cuomo Donations

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A Hudson Valley health care company that received millions in state funding after its executives contributed large sums to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed Tuesday that it was subpoenaed by federal investigators — but says it did nothing wrong.

Crystal Run Healthcare received the subpoena seeking documents more than a year ago, company spokesman Loren Riegelhaupt told The Associated Press on Tuesday. He said the company has "no reason to believe that we are the focus of a current federal investigation."

The subpoena was first reported Monday by The Albany Times-Union, which documented $400,000 in campaign contributions to Cuomo from Crystal Run, its executives, their spouses and company doctors. The state awarded the company $25.4 million in 2016 to help pay for the construction of two health care facilities.

Crystal Run is a partnership of hundreds of physicians with locations throughout the Hudson Valley. A civil lawsuit filed by six of the company's doctors claims they were not consulted about the donations, which the suit noted were made before the state awarded the funds. The lawsuit was prompted by Crystal Run's new business partnership with Bronx-based Montefiore Medical Center.

The company denies that the contributions were made to win Cuomo's favor.

"As we have said repeatedly, any suggestion of a pay to play is entirely false," Riegelhaupt said.

Cuomo's office has not received any subpoenas related to the case, a spokesman for the two-term governor said.

The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment.