University of Michigan Radiology Billing Allegations, Disputed HHS-OIG Complaint, Ann Arbor Police and FOIA Records

University of Michigan radiology billing concerns, a disputed HHS Office of Inspector General complaint, and records obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

Introduction

This report documents events surrounding medical billing concerns raised within the University of Michigan Department of Radiology, the subsequent submission of a complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and records obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
The events described involve allegations reported to the University of Michigan Office of General Counsel, a disputed HHS-OIG complaint submitted under another individual’s name, and materials later obtained from the Ann Arbor Police Department.

Summary

Paul Cronin informed both me and my wife, Dr. Myria Petrou, of medical billing concerns within the University of Michigan Department of Radiology. At Cronin’s request, we jointly reported these concerns to the University of Michigan Office of General Counsel.
After the complaint was submitted, Cronin claimed that I was the source of the allegations.
Subsequently, a complaint concerning Cronin’s billing concerns was submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) under Myria’s name without her authorization. Based on the time-stamp and available information, the complaint could only have been submitted by Cronin’s wife, Dr. Aine Kelly.
Rather than investigating the billing concerns described in the complaint, the HHS-OIG opened an investigation into an NIH ALS research grant for which I served as Co-Principal Investigator.
During subsequent FOIA disclosures, the HHS-OIG acknowledged possessing a DVD obtained from the Ann Arbor Police Department. The DVD contained emails from an unidentified individual named “Nick,” who claimed to be a colleague of Cronin and Kelly. “Nick” made false criminal and sexual allegations against both Myria and me.

Details

Reporting of Radiology Billing Concerns
Paul Cronin repeatedly informed both me and my wife, Dr. Myria Petrou, of alleged medical billing misconduct within the University of Michigan Department of Radiology. According to Cronin, the billing practices directly implicated his supervisor, Dr. Ella Kazerooni.
Cronin stated that he wanted our support in reporting the matter to the University of Michigan Office of General Counsel, explaining that he feared retaliation from Kazerooni. Given that I was the only tenured faculty member, he believed my involvement would provide additional protection.
Around the same time, another radiology faculty member, Dr. Paula Novelli, independently communicated similar concerns regarding billing practices within the department.

Submission of Complaint to the University
Following these discussions, Cronin, my wife Myria, Cronin’s wife Dr. Aine Kelly, and I jointly submitted a complaint to the University of Michigan Office of General Counsel.
After the complaint was submitted, Cronin asserted that I was the source of the allegations, explaining to us that he was afraid of Kazerooni.
The University of Michigan subsequently accused me of making false allegations and initiated termination proceedings against me under the university’s 5.09 bylaw procedures. The proceedings were prosecuted by an outside attorney, despite the 5.09 bylaw prohibiting the use of outside counsel.
Both Cronin and Kelly initially agreed to testify at the 5.09 hearings but later refused to appear. The university did not compel their testimony.

Fraudulent Submission of the HHS-OIG Complaint
Years later, Myria and I discovered that the complaint originally submitted to the University of Michigan Office of General Counsel had also been submitted to the HHS Office of Inspector General under Myria’s name without her authorization.
Previously, I had also discovered that the same complaint had been submitted to the Michigan Attorney General’s office under my name without my authorization.
Based on the time-stamp of the HHS-OIG submission, the only individual who could have submitted the complaint was Aine Kelly.
When Myria asked Kelly whether she had submitted the complaint, Kelly responded that she did not know whether her computer might have been compromised.
Following this discovery, Myria formally disassociated herself from the HHS-OIG complaint.

HHS-OIG Investigation
Approximately one year later, the HHS-OIG released a heavily redacted report in response to a FOIA request.
The report did not address the medical billing concerns described in the complaint. A subsequent FOIA response confirmed that the HHS-OIG never investigated those billing allegations.
Instead, the matter evolved into an investigation of the NIH ALS grant for which I served as Co-Principal Investigator. Myria and I had previously been witnesses to a mishandled sexual harassment case associated with that grant.

Ann Arbor Police DVD and False Allegations
During the FOIA process, the HHS-OIG disclosed that it possessed a DVD obtained from the Ann Arbor Police Department. The DVD itself was not released.
After the Ann Arbor Police Department initially denied a FOIA request for the DVD, the police department released it following contact with Internal Affairs.
The DVD contained emails from an individual identified only as “Nick,” who claimed to be a colleague of Paul Cronin and Dr. Kazerooni. In those emails, “Nick” made false criminal and sexual allegations against both Myria and me.
According to the records, Ann Arbor police relied on these allegations to continue an investigation targeting us. During this investigation, our bank accounts were frozen for more than a year.
The financial consequences of this investigation ultimately led to a sheriff’s sale and the loss of our home.

Broader Context

This sequence of events raises concerns about how allegations and statements may be misattributed or manipulated during investigative processes.
If statements made by Paul Cronin regarding the 2016 U.S. presidential election have instead been attributed to me, the situation could parallel elements of the FBI Russia-Gate investigation.



Related Documentation

• Litigated FOIA Appeal for FBI Russia-Gate Investigation

Related Reporting

Author Image

Brad Foerster, MD PhD

Brad Foerster is a FOIA advocate documenting requests, transparency disputes, and accountability investigations involving public agencies, universities, police oversight, and Russia-Gate related inquiries. His work compiles original documents, timelines, and analysis of public records and institutional responses. Brad is also a board-certified radiologist, author of Town & Gown, and has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles. Brad lives in Potomac, Maryland with his family and is active in the Montgomery County Medical Society and the Takoma Park U.S. & World History Book Club.