Ex-Merrick pediatrician Stuart Copperman was ordered to pay $1.6B in sex abuse judgments. He hasn't paid a dime.

A former Merrick pediatrician whom a Nassau court ordered to pay $1.6 billion to 104 women he allegedly sexually abused as children hasn’t paid a dollar of the judgments against him, three years after the court’s first financial award, lawyers for the women said.

The women and their attorneys said they knew Stuart Copperman, 91, could never pay the full amount, which experts said is one of the largest sexual-abuse judgments in U.S. history. But they are frustrated that he has avoided paying anything.

"He was a predator and got away with it for so many years, and to a certain extent, I feel he’s still getting away with it, because he never had to go to jail and he’s never had to pay up," said Jeanna Salgado, 58, who won a $32 million judgment.

The 104 suits against Copperman were filed under the 2019 Child Victims Act, which allowed people sexually abused as children to receive financial damages from their alleged abusers years la ter. The suits allege that Copperman began abusing patients in the 1960s and continued doing so until the state revoked his medical license in 2000. 

Kristen Gibbons Feden, a Philadelphia attorney who represents the women, said a collections attorney has been trying to recover money for the survivors.

"It does not surprise me that he is not paying anything," she said. "He seems to me to be taking on the normal persona of a predator, just not taking accountability, just not responding to the allegations."

Michael Della, a Ronkonkoma lawyer who works with Gibbons Feden on behalf of the plaintiffs, said that if Copperman continues to refuse to pay, a judge could freeze or seize assets such as bank and investment accounts, and any home that is not a primary residence, and could potentially jail him if he's found in contempt of court.

Debra Zuckerwise, 69, who grew up in Merrick, said Copperman repeatedly sexually assaulted her beginning when she was 5. She called Copperman a "wimp" for refusing to defend himself in court and pay any part of the judgment.

"He won’t stand up to his own doings," she said.

Zuckerwise said she became addicted to heroin "to numb the pain" from the trauma. She spent time in 15 psychiatric hospitals and drug rehabilitation facilities, according to court records. A court special referee, William Bodkin, awarded her $25 million.

"It’s been hell, absolute hell," Zuckerwise said by phone from her home in Irvine, California. "He messed up my life. He needs to pay for something."

Calculating awards

Copperman ignored requests to defend himself against the 104 women’s accusations, so Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Leonard D. Steinman in January 2023 ruled he was liable for sexual abuse in each case by default.

Then Steinman and court special referees spent 19 months hearing testimony and reviewing evidence in each suit and, after considering the alleged physical abuse and the long-term psychological effects on the victims, determined monetary awards.

In Salgado's case, two psychotherapists submitted affidavits that Salgado, who grew up in Wantagh and now lives in Manhattan, has post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and panic disorders, and other continuing repercussions from Copperman’s alleged abuse. Bodkin, the court special referee, concluded that Salgado suffered "profound, permanent ... psychological scars" from her abuse. 

Newsday does not name alleged victims of sexual abuse without their consent. Salgado agreed to be named.

Copperman did not return phone calls for comment, nor would he speak with Newsday when a reporter arrived at the guardhouse of his gated community earlier this month.

"I’m not interested," he told a guard. He also turned away Newsday from one of his Florida homes last year.

When Newsday reached Copperman by phone in 2024, he declined to comment, other than saying that he did not contest the civil suits because of "legal advice." He declined to identify his attorney.

Joe Tacopina, a Manhattan lawyer who previously represented Copperman, as well as President Donald Trump and other high-profile clients, did not return calls last week.

Seeking accountability

Gibbons Feden said she knew that by taking on such a large case without the prospect of a large payout, she would lose money. But, she said, "this is something I wanted to do, because I wanted this man to be held accountable."

Steinman in 2023 dismissed from the case several health systems and facilities, as well as another doctor and a school district, greatly reducing the amount of money the women could have potentially received.

An investigator is trying to determine the extent of Copperman’s assets, Gibbons Feden said. Property records show that Copperman and his wife, Renee Copperman, own three homes.

In 2003, the couple jointly purchased a home at The Greens at Half Hollow, a gated community and golf course in Melville. But in 2019, only days before the Child Victims Act made assets of accused sexual abusers vulnerable, Stuart Copperman transferred his ownership stake to his wife.

"He hid his assets," Salgado said. "He’s just a snake."

It’s common for people sued for sexual abuse to move assets into the names of family members to avoid paying, said Stefan Turkheimer, vice president for public policy for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.

Turkheimer said that’s deeply unfair to sexual-abuse survivors, who typically face financial as well as psychological costs, from therapy and medical expenses to loss of income if their ability to work is impacted.

"These are assaults that leave a lifetime mark," he said.

Pursuing assets

The Melville house has a market value of between $1 million and nearly $1.3 million, according to estimates from real estate sites Zillow, realtor.com homes.com and Redfin.

Della, the Ronkonkoma lawyer working with Gibbons Feden, said courts cannot force the sale of someone’s primary residence, which New York law defines as where someone lives at least half the year. But if the Melville house is not Copperman’s primary residence and a court determines "he fraudulently conveyed the property to his wife" to avoid Child Victims Act claims, "a judge may be able to force a sale on that," he said. Della said the ownership transfer was a clear attempt by Copperman to shield his assets.

Stuart Copperman is listed as the sole owner of a home in Delray Beach, Florida, that real estate sites estimate is worth about a half-million dollars. And in 2024, he and his wife jointly bought a home in a gated community in Boca Raton, Florida, for $239,500, Palm Beach County property appraiser records show.

Copperman was never criminally prosecuted. In 1984, Salgado — then named Jeanna Limmer — and her mother reported Copperman to Nassau police, according to police records. The next year, Salgado and another girl separately filed complaints with the state Health Department.

But the Board for Professional Medical Conduct, which disciplines doctors, exonerated Copperman in 1987. As complaints over the years mounted, the board again reviewed his conduct, and in 2000 it revoked his license.

No criminal charges were filed. The statute of limitations prevents his prosecution today.