Attorney General Letitia James announced on June 29 the arrest and indictment of Nduka Lewis Ekpenyong, 36, of Hewlett, New York, the owner of Duke Medical, Inc., a medical supply company in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Prosecutors allege he stole more than $2.5 million from Medicaid by submitting over 6,000 fraudulent claims for a pediatric nutritional supplement he largely never delivered.
According to the AG’s office, the scheme ran from April 13, 2023, to July 15, 2025. Ekpenyong allegedly instructed staff at pediatric practices to alter doctors’ prescriptions, swapping out basic PediaSure Nutritional Supplement for the more expensive PediaSure with Peptides, a formula intended only for children diagnosed with severe gastrointestinal issues. He then billed Medicaid for the pricier product without actually buying most of it.
An audit by the Office of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit found that Duke Medical purchased only 10 percent of the amount Ekpenyong billed Medicaid for. Medicaid paid Duke Medical approximately $2,531,194.30 for PediaSure with Peptides that was not medically necessary and, in many cases, was never purchased or delivered at all, according to the AG’s press release.
The AG’s office says Ekpenyong used the stolen funds to buy a Bentley and a Range Rover and to pay the mortgage on a multi-million-dollar Long Island mansion.
The OAG investigation found that Duke Medical’s scheme prevented some families from getting the formula their children’s pediatricians had ordered. “While Nduka Ekpenyong was buying luxury cars with money he allegedly stole from our state’s Medicaid program, families affected by his fraud were struggling to feed their children,” James said in the press release.
Ekpenyong and Duke Medical were charged with one count of Grand Larceny in the First Degree, one count of Health Care Fraud in the Second Degree, and one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. If convicted on the top count, Ekpenyong faces a maximum sentence of eight and a third to 25 years in state prison.
Alongside the criminal indictment, James filed a civil asset forfeiture action that has already resulted in the seizure of both luxury vehicles. The action also blocks Ekpenyong from selling his Long Island house and seeks $7,593,582.90 in total damages. Ekpenyong and Duke Medical are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Featured image: NY Attorney General's Office
