Second FBI Production in Foerster v. U.S. Department of Justice — FBI Closed Investigation While HHS-OIG Pursued Debarment of Dr. Bradley Foerster
On June 16, 2026, the Department of Justice released the second tranche of FBI records in Foerster v. U.S. Department of Justice. The records document a 2019 restitution and debarment process associated with HHS-OIG Case No. 5-17-0-0192-4 and NIH Grant R01NS082304.
The production documented a striking sequence: criminal prosecution was declined, the HHS-OIG criminal investigation was closed, the FBI continued to follow the status of debarment, and the FBI later closed its own investigation while recording that HHS intended to pursue debarment.
The records also addressed grant restitution, a reduction in the University of Michigan’s NIH letter of credit, and Dr. Bradley Foerster together with additional redacted individuals in connection with possible debarment from future federal grants.
For background concerning the complaints that preceded the federal investigation, see July 15 and July 20, 2017 HHS-OIG Complaints: NIH Grant Reporting, University of Michigan Radiology Billing Practices, and Subsequent Federal Records .
February 21, 2019: “Restitution and Debarment Both in Process”
A February 21, 2019 FBI Electronic Communication, entitled Restitution and Debarment Both in Process, states that University of Michigan officials advised federal investigators that approximately $294,284.02 would be removed from the NIH grant and that a letter-of-credit reduction would be submitted to NIH.
The same record identified Dr. Bradley Foerster and additional redacted individuals as being “in the process of being debarred from future US Government grants.” It also records that the Assistant United States Attorney assigned to the matter advised that no criminal charges would be brought.
August 21, 2019: Criminal Investigation Closed
The August 21, 2019 HHS-OIG Closing Investigative Memorandum describes the matter as involving alleged fraud relating to NIH Grant R01NS082304 at the University of Michigan and states that discussions with the Office of the United States Attorney resulted in a declination of criminal prosecution and closure of the criminal investigation.
October 15, 2019: FBI Requests Status of Debarment
An FBI memorandum dated October 15, 2019 documents a follow-up inquiry to HHS-OIG concerning the status of the debarment process. The record indicates that the contemplated process involved Dr. Foerster and additional individuals whose identities were redacted in the June 2026 production.
December 19, 2019: FBI Closes Investigation; HHS Plans to Pursue Debarment
A December 19, 2019 FBI case-closing memorandum states that HHS advised the FBI that the University of Michigan had returned approximately $250,000 in NIH grant funds.
The memorandum further states that HHS would pursue debarment to preclude Dr. Foerster and additional redacted individuals from obtaining future federal grants. Criminal prosecution had already been declined, and the FBI closed its investigation while recording that the administrative debarment process would continue.
Subsequent HHS-OIG Record Search
Following the June 2026 FBI production, Dr. Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou submitted targeted FOIA requests to HHS-OIG seeking records concerning any proposed, contemplated, initiated, or completed debarment, exclusion, suspension, or grant-eligibility action involving either individual.
On July 2, 2026, HHS-OIG reported that it had conducted a thorough search but could locate no responsive documents concerning such actions for either Dr. Foerster or Dr. Petrou.
That subsequent records gap is documented here:
September 2026: A Previously Redacted Identity Is Revealed
The identity question changed in September 2026, when the FBI released to Dr. Petrou another version of the February 21, 2019 Electronic Communication previously produced in Foerster v. U.S. Department of Justice.
The June litigation production identified Dr. Bradley Foerster while withholding the other identifying information. The later FBI release to Dr. Petrou reveals Petrou in the same debarment passage. Read together, the two versions indicate that the record concerned Dr. Bradley Foerster, Dr. Myria Petrou, and an apparently third individual whose identity remains redacted.
The new disclosure therefore resolves part of the uncertainty in the June production while creating a more specific question: what was the documented basis for including Dr. Myria Petrou in the NIH Grant R01NS082304 debarment process?
The complementary FBI releases, Dr. Petrou’s status as an unfunded co-investigator, and the records bearing on that unresolved question are documented here:
What the Record Now Shows
The documentary sequence is now clearer: the FBI documented restitution and debarment as underway in February 2019; criminal prosecution was declined; the HHS-OIG criminal investigation closed; the FBI continued to inquire about debarment; and the FBI later closed its investigation while recording that HHS-OIG intended to pursue debarment.
The September 2026 disclosure now identifies Dr. Myria Petrou as one of the individuals referenced in the February 2019 debarment record. Yet HHS-OIG subsequently reported that a thorough search located no responsive debarment records concerning either Dr. Foerster or Dr. Petrou.
The remaining documentary questions are therefore narrower: what was the basis for including Dr. Petrou, who was the apparently third individual whose identity remains redacted, and why can HHS-OIG locate no responsive records concerning a debarment process documented contemporaneously by the FBI?
The second production also represents only one strand of the larger FBI file. Other records produced in Foerster v. U.S. Department of Justice separately concern Russia-Gate-related reporting, Dr. Paul Cronin, Mueller–Rosenstein correspondence, and other investigative activity. The records reproduced here do not establish whether or how those investigative strands were connected.
That creates a specific documentary gap: the FBI records document a debarment process in 2019 and state that HHS intended to pursue it, while HHS-OIG later reported that it could locate no responsive debarment records concerning either Dr. Foerster or Dr. Petrou. See the subsequent HHS-OIG FOIA determinations.
The ultimate disposition of the debarment process therefore remains unresolved.
Exhibits
The documents discussed above are reproduced below.
Exhibit 1 – February 21, 2019 FBI Electronic Communication, “Restitution and Debarment Both in Process”
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Exhibit 2 – August 21, 2019 HHS-OIG Closing Investigative Memorandum
Exhibit 3 – October 15, 2019 FBI Memorandum Regarding Debarment Status
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Exhibit 4 – December 19, 2019 FBI Case-Closing Memorandum
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Exhibit 5 – June 17, 2026 SAM Exclusion Search Results
Related Documentary Record
The records below provide the preceding FBI-production context, the related HHS-OIG criminal-case disposition, the subsequent HHS-OIG debarment-record search, and a later issue arising from the FBI disclosures.
Preceding FBI Production
FBI First Interim Production in Foerster v. U.S. Department of Justice — Executive Summary and Contemporaneous FBI Administrative Records
HHS-OIG Investigation and Criminal Declination
U.S. Attorney Declined Criminal Prosecution in HHS-OIG Investigation of ALS NIH Grant R01NS082304 — The Later-Discovered July 20 Complaint
Subsequent FBI Disclosure — INTELPRODS
Supplemental Exhibit Filed After FBI Disclosure of INTELPRODS Repository and 39 Associated Withheld Pages
HHS-OIG Case 5-17-0-0192-4 Documentary Chronology
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Selected Reporting
- Bradley Foerster Submits 140-Exhibit, 1,121-Page Documentary Chronology to FBI for Supervisory Review of the Investigation Involving Dr. Bradley Foerster, Dr. Myria Petrou, and Duaa Altaee
- From One FBI File to a Legislative Proposal: Peter and Maria Foerster Ask Senator Van Hollen's Office and Congressman Jamie Raskin to Consider a Uniform Administrative Framework for Federal Investigations
- Eva Feldman Documentary Chronology: 139 Exhibits on NIH R01NS082304, University Proceedings, and Federal Investigation — No Response Received
- Bradley Foerster and Myria Petrou Send Ann Arbor Officials Documentary Chronology on AAPD and Related Federal Investigations — No Response Received
- Timothy Lynch Documentary Chronology: 63 Exhibits on University of Michigan Office of General Counsel, University Investigations, and Law Enforcement — No Response Received
- Bradley Foerster and Myria Petrou Documentary Chronology: 8 Exhibits Document More Than Two Years of Efforts to Trace Bank of Ann Arbor's $1.4 Million Sheriff's Sale Credit Bid — No Response Received
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 a member of the Montgomery County Medical Society and the Takoma Park U.S. & World History Book Club.