Cruel LI man accused of leaving babies malnourished as part of ‘heartless’ $2.6M Medicaid fraud scheme
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A cruel Long Island con man bought a lavish mansion and Bentley thanks to a twisted Medicaid bait-and-switch scam that robbed undernourished infants of proper baby formula, officials said Monday.
Nduka Lewis Ekpenyong, 36, skimmed $2.6 million from the taxpayer-funded program by providing low-grade PediaSure to needy babies who had been prescribed more expensive special formulas they needed, according to state Attorney General Letitia James.
He then billed the government for the more expensive stuff and pocketed the difference in price, authorities said.
“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 a press release.
“My office has shut down this heartless fraud scheme for good.”
Lewis, who is charged with grand larceny and healthcare fraud and also faces a civil lawsuit in the case, allegedly used his ill-gotten fortune to purchase a $1.6 million mansion in pricey Hewlett, a $70,000 black Bentley, a $67,000 black Range Rover and other luxury splurges.
He bought obnoxious upgrades for his mansion, such as an outdoor kitchen, marble fountain and garish red basketball court in his front yard with his own initial emblazoned in the middle, officials said.
Lewis is also accused of using the illegal funds on a $33,000 Mercedes for his live-in girlfriend, who was on Medicaid herself, authorities said.
Prosecutors are suing him for nearly $7.6 million in damages, including the $2.6 million of bogus Medicaid bills.
Lewis ran the scam out of his Brooklyn company, Duke Medical, LLC, from April 2023 to July 2025, according to the lawsuit filed in Brooklyn court Monday.
Doctors’ offices would order the pricey formula from him for their needy patients — but there were times his company failed to deliver even any brand at all.
When it did dispense formula, it was “in fact dispensing a very basic, over-the-counter product, namely PediaSure,” James’ office said.
“The OAG’s investigation found that Duke Medical’s fraudulent scheme prevented some families in need from getting the formula their children’s pediatricians had ordered, preventing them from receiving the care they needed,” she said.
“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.”