A Hewlett resident who owns a medical supply company has been charged with stealing more than $2.5 million from Medicaid, prosecutors said.\n<\/p>\n
Nduka Lewis Ekpenyong and his company, Brooklyn-based Duke Medical, were charged in an alleged fraud<\/a> scheme involving pediatric formula<\/a> that was never delivered, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Authorities allege that Ekpenyong, through his Brooklyn-based company Duke Medical, had submitted more than 6,000 fraudulent claims to Medicaid for PediaSure with Peptides<\/a>, which is prescribed for children with gastrointestinal or feeding issues. Yet, investigators said, the defendant purchased only 10 percent of the amount for which Medicaid was billed. The alleged scheme generated more than $2.5 million in improper Medicaid payments, which Ekpenyong allegedly used to fund personal expenses, including luxury vehicles, as well as mortgage payments on his Long Island<\/a> residence, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n Now Ekpenyong and Duke Medical face charges that include grand larceny<\/a>, healthcare fraud<\/a> and scheme to defraud.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWhile Nduka Ekpenyong was buying luxury cars with money he allegedly stole from our state\u2019s Medicaid program, families affected by his fraud were struggling to feed their children,\u201d James said in a news release about the charges. \u201cMy office has shut down this heartless fraud scheme for good. This case should send a strong message to anyone seeking to profit by exploiting Medicaid: we will use the full force of the law to bring you to justice.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Thomas Kenniff, the attorney representing Ekpenyong and Duke Medical, was not immediately available for comment. Kenniff is a founding partner of Raiser, Kenniff & Lonstein, a law firm with an office in Garden City.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, prosecutors say that Ekpenyong allegedly instructed office staff at pediatric practices to alter doctors\u2019 prescriptions for the basic PediaSure Nutritional Supplement and submit requests that would allow him to bill Medicaid for the more expensive PediaSure with Peptides.\n<\/p>\n The alleged scheme, investigators said, prevented some families from getting the formula their children\u2019s pediatricians had ordered, limiting their access to needed nutritional support.\n<\/p>\n