“Restitution and Debarment Both in Process”: FBI Records Identify Dr. Bradley Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou — HHS-OIG Reports No Responsive Records
Years later, records released to Dr. Foerster through Foerster v. U.S. Department of Justice, Dr. Foerster’s ongoing federal FOIA litigation, revealed something neither Dr. Foerster nor Dr. Petrou had ever been told: FBI records documented a federal debarment process involving both physicians during 2019.
Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou had not previously known that such a debarment process existed. The process came to light through FBI records released in the FOIA litigation.
The FBI records show that the issue was not fleeting. A February 21, 2019 FBI Electronic Communication, titled “Restitution and debarment both in process,” documents a conversation the previous day involving the University of Michigan Office of the Vice President and General Counsel, HHS-OIG, and the FBI. The record identifies a University Associate Vice President and an HHS-OIG Special Agent as participants in that discussion.
The FBI record then documents the status of both the grant-related financial issue and debarment. The record states that individuals including Dr. Myria Petrou were “in the process of being debarred from future US Government grants.” An earlier FBI production identified Dr. Bradley Foerster in the corresponding debarment passage. Another identity remains redacted.
The successive FBI releases identifying Dr. Petrou and Dr. Foerster in the debarment passage are discussed separately in FBI Debarment Record Now Identifies Dr. Myria Petrou and DOJ Releases Second FBI Production: FBI Closed Case, HHS Pursued Debarment.
The FBI Expected Supporting Paperwork
The FBI record goes further. On the following page, the FBI states that when either the University funds transfer or “the debarring process” was complete, “the appropriate supporting paperwork will be documented in captioned file.”
The identification of Dr. Petrou raises an additional question. Dr. Petrou participated in R01NS082304 as a non-funded co-investigator. The FBI record does not explain why Dr. Petrou was included in the debarment process.
Information Asymmetry: Who Knew About the Debarment Process?
By February 2019, the documentary record shows a striking information asymmetry. An FBI record documents a discussion involving the FBI, HHS-OIG, and the University of Michigan Office of the Vice President and General Counsel in which the status of a federal debarment process involving Dr. Bradley Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou was recorded. Yet Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou did not know that the process existed.
The distinction matters. Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou were not outside observers to the process being documented. Their own future eligibility for U.S. Government grants was at issue. At the same time, the University participating in the discussion was Dr. Foerster’s employer, and the HHS-OIG investigation had already become part of the University’s Bylaw 5.09 proceedings against Dr. Foerster.
The FBI record makes the information gap even more concrete. The FBI did not merely record that debarment had been mentioned. The record states that debarment was “in process” and that, when the “debarring process” was complete, “the appropriate supporting paperwork will be documented in captioned file.” Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou nevertheless remained unaware that the process was taking place.
Years later, the information flowed in the opposite direction: Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou learned about the debarment process from FBI records obtained through FOIA litigation and then sought the underlying records themselves. Their similar FOIA requests were broad enough to capture proposed, contemplated, initiated, or completed debarment-related action. HHS-OIG responded that thorough searches could locate no responsive documents concerning either physician.
That leaves an unusual documentary sequence: the federal investigative record documents the FBI, HHS-OIG, and the University participating in a discussion in which a debarment process affecting Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou was recorded, while neither physician knew the process existed. Years later, the physicians discovered the process through FBI records, while HHS-OIG reported that it could not locate the underlying debarment records concerning either physician.
The FBI records also show that the debarment process continued beyond February 2019. On October 15, 2019, the FBI contacted HHS-OIG about the status of the process. On December 19, 2019, the FBI closed its investigation but recorded that HHS still intended to pursue debarment to prevent Dr. Foerster and additional individual or individuals from receiving future federal grants.
HHS-OIG Reports No Responsive Debarment Records
After learning about the debarment process through the FBI releases, Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou submitted similar FOIA requests to HHS-OIG seeking the underlying records. The requests were broad enough to capture not simply a completed debarment, but records concerning a proposed, contemplated, initiated, or otherwise pursued debarment-related process.
Dr. Foerster’s request sought records reflecting, referencing, discussing, supporting, or documenting “any proposed, contemplated, initiated, or completed debarment, exclusion, suspension, or grant-eligibility action” concerning Dr. Foerster and University of Michigan grant-related matters.
Dr. Petrou submitted a parallel request seeking the same categories of debarment-related records concerning Dr. Petrou.
HHS-OIG issued both final determinations on July 2, 2026.
In response to Dr. Foerster, HHS-OIG stated:
“Our office conducted a thorough search for records responsive to your request but could not locate any responsive documents.”
HHS-OIG gave Dr. Petrou the same substantive response, stating that the agency had conducted a “thorough search” but “could not locate any responsive documents.”
That sequence leaves a basic records question:
If Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou first learned about the debarment process years later through FBI records, and those FBI records show that debarment was “in process” in February 2019, that the FBI expected supporting paperwork to be documented when the process was complete, that the FBI checked its status with HHS-OIG in October 2019, and that HHS still intended to pursue debarment in December 2019, where are the records documenting what happened?
The available records do not establish that Dr. Foerster or Dr. Petrou was ultimately debarred. They do not explain why HHS-OIG could locate no responsive records.
What happened to the debarment process remains unresolved.
Exhibits
Exhibit 1 — July 2, 2026 HHS-OIG Final Determination — Dr. Bradley Foerster
FOIA Request No. 26-0506. HHS-OIG reported that it conducted a thorough search for records concerning proposed, contemplated, initiated, or completed debarment-related action involving Dr. Foerster but could not locate any responsive documents.
Exhibit 2 — July 2, 2026 HHS-OIG Final Determination — Dr. Myria Petrou
FOIA Request No. 26-0507. HHS-OIG reported that it conducted a thorough search for records concerning proposed, contemplated, initiated, or completed debarment-related action involving Dr. Petrou but could not locate any responsive documents.
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.