The Records Converge: University of Michigan Vice President and Lead General Counsel Timothy Lynch Asked to Account for the HHS-OIG Record Behind Dr. Foerster's 5.09 Proceedings
On August 20, 2026, Dr. Bradley Foerster wrote to University of Michigan Vice President and Lead General Counsel Timothy Lynch concerning discrepancies between records maintained by the University of Michigan and the federal documentary record involving HHS-OIG Agent Tyson Howard, federal debarment, and the Regents’ Bylaw 5.09 proceedings against Dr. Foerster.
The correspondence brings together two documentary discrepancies separately reported in this archive.
In February 2026, the University of Michigan reported that it had located a responsive record involving Dr. Ella Kazerooni and HHS-OIG Agent Tyson Howard, but withheld the record from disclosure. The University's denial was subsequently upheld on appeal.
A reciprocal FOIA request was then submitted directly to HHS-OIG, expressly informing the agency of the University's determination and providing a copy of it.
HHS-OIG responded that it had conducted a “thorough search” but could locate no responsive documents.
Related Reporting: The Record That Exists — and Doesn’t: Communications With a Federal Agent
The second discrepancy concerns federal debarment.
Records obtained through Dr. Foerster's litigated Freedom of Information Act appeal against the U.S. Department of Justice documented a February 2019 meeting involving the FBI, HHS-OIG, and the University of Michigan Office of General Counsel.
According to the FBI's contemporaneous record, the U.S. Attorney's Office had declined criminal charges concerning the NIH ALS R01 grant investigation, while debarment proceedings involving Dr. Foerster and at least one other redacted individual were reportedly “in process.”
Yet targeted FOIA requests to HHS-OIG subsequently produced determinations stating that the agency could locate no responsive records reflecting that it sought, contemplated, recommended, referred, or pursued debarment of either Dr. Foerster or Dr. Myria Petrou.
A parallel FOIA inquiry to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has now produced another development. On August 20, NIH confirmed that it is “in the process of reviewing documents for releasability” responsive to Dr. Foerster's request concerning debarment and related federal funding actions.
What those NIH documents establish remains unknown.
Related Reporting: The Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou Debarment Records HHS-OIG Couldn’t Find — and NIH Is Now Reviewing
The Regents’ Bylaw 5.09 proceedings occurred during Lynch's tenure as University General Counsel, while the federal investigative record documents activity involving HHS-OIG, the FBI, and University of Michigan OGC.
The Tyson Howard issue had also been brought directly to Lynch.
Before Dr. Foerster's May 2019 SACUA appeal hearing, Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou executed sworn affidavits concerning the identity of the individual who had introduced himself to them as HHS-OIG Agent Tyson Howard. They provided the affidavits to Lynch and requested that the matter be investigated. Dr. Foerster states that he received no substantive response.
At the May 1, 2019 SACUA appeal hearing, Daniel Tukel, the outside attorney retained by the University, dismissed Dr. Foerster's concerns regarding Howard on the premise that because the interview had occurred inside the Ann Arbor FBI office, the circumstances necessarily had to be legitimate.
These questions are particularly significant because then-Dean Marschall Runge relied upon the HHS-OIG investigation and related information in his charge letter initiating the Regents’ Bylaw 5.09 proceedings against Dr. Foerster.
The provenance, accuracy, and completeness of the federal investigative information maintained by the University therefore bear directly on the institutional basis for those proceedings.
The August 20 correspondence asks Lynch to review the University's records and provide a substantive response to three questions:
The correspondence does not ask Lynch to explain the internal activities of the FBI, HHS-OIG, or NIH.
The complete August 20, 2026 correspondence is reproduced below.
Exhibit 1 — Correspondence to Timothy Lynch Regarding HHS-OIG, Tyson Howard, and Regents’ Bylaw 5.09 Proceedings
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Selected Reporting
- From Mentor to Federal Investigation: The Dr. Eva Feldman Documentary Chronology
- July 26 Documentary Notice and Documentary Chronology Transmitted to City Attorney Kaur, Mayor Taylor, City Administrator Dohoney, and Police Chief Anderson Concerning Ann Arbor Police Department Investigations, Related City Proceedings, and Federal Investigations Involving Drs. Bradley Foerster and Myria Petrou (2015–2026).
- July 7 Documentary Notice to University of Michigan Vice President and General Counsel Timothy G. Lynch Concerning University and Law Enforcement Investigations Involving Drs. Bradley Foerster and Myria Petrou (2015–2026). July 8 UM Announces Lynch Leaving.
- 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
- The Institutional Fingerprint of the FBI Russia-Gate File: Referrals, Consults, Intelligence Reports, and the June 16, 2026 FBI Production
- Dr. Bradley Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou Document More Than Two Years of Unsuccessful Efforts to Trace Bank of Ann Arbor's $1.4 Million Sheriff's Sale Credit Bid (June 2026)
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.