Hewlett man accused of defrauding $2.5M from Medicaid to buy Bentley, Range Rover and mansion
Nduka Lewis Ekpenyong, the owner of Duke Medical, is accused of submitting over 6,00 claims to Medicaid for PediaSure with Peptides, but not actually purchasing the majority of the specialized nutritional supplements that children were prescribed to receive.
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A 36-year-old Hewlett man was arrested and indicted for allegedly stealing over $2.5 million from Medicaid through a healthcare fraud scheme, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Nduka Lewis Ekpenyong, the owner of Duke Medical, is accused of submitting over 6,00 claims to Medicaid for PediaSure with Peptides, but not actually purchasing the majority of the specialized nutritional supplements that children were prescribed to receive.
James says Ekpenyong "pocketed more than $2.5 million from Medicaid through his false billing scheme, which he used to buy luxury cars, including a Bentley and a Range Rover, and pay the mortgage on his Long Island mansion."
Those luxury cars and mansion are now subject to a civil asset forfeiture action for about $7.6 million in damages.
His assets were seized and he has been prevented from selling his multimillion dollar house he mortgaged using the allegedly stolen Medicaid funds.
Ekpenyong directed office staff at pediatric practices to change physicians’ prescriptions from standard PediaSure Nutritional Supplement to PediaSure with Peptides and submit claims that enabled him to bill Medicaid for the costlier product, despite it being medically unnecessary, James said.
PediaSure with Peptides is intended only for children diagnosed with severe gastrointestinal conditions.
An audit conducted by the Attorney General’s Office found that Duke Medical purchased only about 10% of the PediaSure with Peptides it billed to Medicaid.
As a result, Medicaid paid the company approximately $2.53 million for the specialized formula, which auditors determined was often medically unnecessary and, in many cases, was neither purchased nor delivered by Duke Medical.
He is charged with grand larceny, healthcare fraud and scheme to defraud.
