Joni Canby, an obstetrics and gynecology doctor from Poland, will serve two years probation and pay more than $160,000 in fines and restitution in connection to a Medicaid kickbacks scheme, according to the US Department of Justice.
 
The sentence comes after Canby entered a guilty plea to charges she conspired to solicit, receive, offer, and pay kickbacks in connection with a Federal Health Care Program in November of 2021.
 
In the scheme, Dr. Samir Wahib of Youngstown worked with Dr. Michelle Kapon, also of Youngstown, and Canby to organize a test-for-payment scheme benefitting all three doctors.
 
In the scheme, Canby and Kapon would each collect samples from patients and send them to Wahib for unnecessary gonorrhea and chlamydia testing. For each test received, Wahib would bill Medicaid for the tests and send $20 to Canby and $15 to Kapon.
 
The payments were disguised as "physician coverage" on checks deposited to Wahib's bank account. In total, Wahib sent $31,520 to Canby and Kapon over 4 years, from 2014 to 2017.
 
In response to the charges, Canby's license was indefinitely suspended by the Ohio Medical Board in March of 2023. Kapon's was suspended in 2021, but reinstated earlier this year.
 
In total, Canby must pay $30,000 in fines and $135,632 in restitution to Medicaid.
 
Kapon is currently set to be sentenced on July 5th, and Wahib on September 12th.