Former Valley OBGYN going to prison for kickback conviction

A federal judge has sentenced a doctor formerly from Canfield to four months in prison for his role in a Medicare and Medicaid kickback scheme involving testing deemed not to be medically necessary.

In addition, the judge fined OB/GYN, Dr. Samir Wahib $55,000 and placed him on probation during a sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court on Tuesday.

Wahib's attorney had asked for a sentence that would have allowed him to continue his practice at a hospital in a community of under 21,000 just south of Terre Haute, Indiana.

Wahib, 56,  pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to solicit, receive, offer, and pay kickbacks in connection with a Federal Health Care Program, and four counts of Offering or paying Kickbacks in Connection with a Federal Health Care Program.  Other charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Wahib says he hasn’t practiced medicine in the Valley since the investigation began in 2017 but has been working a Sullivan County Community Hospital in Indiana since 2019.

Wahib is the third doctor to be sentenced in the case.

Joni Canby, an obstetrics, and gynecology doctor from Poland, was placed on probation for two years and ordered to pay more than $160,000 in fines and restitution.

In November, Canby pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Solicit, Receive, Offer, and Pay Kickbacks in Connection with a Federal Health Care Program, and two counts of Conspiracy to Solicit, Receive, Offer, and Pay Kickbacks in Connection with a Federal Health Care Program.

Dr. Michelle Kapon of Youngstown was also sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay a $75,000 fine after pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to solicit, receive, offer, and pay kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program and two counts of receipt of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program.

According to court documents, Kapon and Canby received kickbacks from Wahib after sending samples from their patients to him for gonorrhea and chlamydia testing.

Investigators say that Wahib paid $20 in kickbacks to Canby and $15 to Kapon for every specimen they sent to him.  Wahib would, in turn, allegedly submit claims to the federal government for payment for the tests.

The government claims the payments were disguised as “physician coverage” on checks from Wahib’s business account.

Between 2014 and 2017, Wahib paid $31,520 to Kapon and Canby, while Wahib submitted 42 related claims to Medicare and Medicaid, according to investigators.