FBI Debarment Record Now Identifies Dr. Myria Petrou — Basis for Including Her in the NIH Grant R01NS082304 Debarment Process Remains Unclear
On September 11, 2026, during a discussion with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Stratton concerning the Joint Status Report in Foerster v. U.S. Department of Justice, Stratton advised Dr. Bradley Foerster that the FBI was going to release records in response to a FOIA request submitted by Dr. Myria Petrou concerning Dr. Foerster’s FBI file.
The release to Dr. Petrou, dated September 8, 2026, included a newly disclosed version of a February 21, 2019 FBI Electronic Communication titled “Restitution and debarment both in process.”
The significance of the release becomes clear when it is compared with the version of the same FBI record previously produced by the Department of Justice in June 2026 in Foerster v. U.S. Department of Justice.
Two Releases of the Same FBI Record
In the June 2026 litigation production, Dr. Bradley Foerster was identified in the passage stating that individuals were:
“in the process of being debarred from future US Government grants.”
The identities of the other individual or individuals remained redacted. The June 2026 post documenting that production therefore expressly left those identities unresolved.
The earlier FBI production—including the subsequent FBI inquiry concerning debarment status and the December 2019 record stating that HHS intended to continue pursuing debarment—is documented here:
The September 2026 release followed a different path. It was released by the FBI in response to Dr. Myria Petrou’s FOIPA request concerning the investigation of NIH Grant R01NS082304.
In that version of the same February 21, 2019 FBI record, Petrou is visible in the debarment passage, while identifying information before her surname and following the word “and” remains redacted.
Read together, the two versions indicate that the February 21, 2019 debarment passage concerned Dr. Bradley Foerster, Dr. Myria Petrou, and an apparently third individual whose identity remains redacted.
The same FBI record states that the assigned Assistant United States Attorney advised that:
“there will be no criminal charges brought against the persons involved in this matter.”
The following page states that when either the University of Michigan funds transfer or “the debarring process” was complete, the appropriate supporting paperwork would be documented in the FBI case file.
What Was the Basis for Including Dr. Petrou?
The identification of Dr. Petrou raises a question the newly released FBI record does not answer.
Dr. Petrou was an unfunded co-investigator associated with NIH Grant R01NS082304 and therefore is not reflected among the funded personnel in the annual NIH Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) participant records reviewed for the grant.
The annual NIH RPPR participant records identify Dr. Bradley Foerster and Dr. Robert Welsh as PD/PIs and identify other funded project personnel with reported effort.
The February 21, 2019 FBI record nevertheless identifies Myria Petrou in connection with the contemplated debarment process.
Nothing in the released record explains what conduct, grant responsibility, or other factual basis led to Dr. Petrou’s inclusion. Her status as an unfunded co-investigator does not establish that she could not have been subject to debarment, but the documentary basis for including her remains unexplained.
University Financial Records and the Remaining Redacted Individual
University financial records provide additional context.
A University of Michigan grant ledger later released under FOIA records a February 28, 2019 write-off of $129,215.99 for Duaa Altaee’s salary and fringe benefits, together with $71,336.99 in associated indirect costs.
One week earlier, the February 21 FBI memorandum reported that the University had determined that $294,284.02 would be reduced from the grant. The annual NIH RPPR participant records identify Duaa Altaee as the study coordinator.
These records make Duaa Altaee a possible candidate for the apparently third individual whose identity remains redacted, but they do not establish that identification.
Nor do the records produced to date explain how the grant and financial issues documented in these records resulted in Dr. Petrou, an unfunded co-investigator, being included in the contemplated debarment process.
FBI Documents Debarment; HHS-OIG Later Reports No Responsive Records
The documentary trail continued after February 2019.
An October 2019 FBI memorandum sought the status of the debarment process. A December 19, 2019 FBI case-closing memorandum subsequently recorded that HHS intended to pursue debarment even as the FBI closed its investigation following the declination of criminal prosecution.
Yet when Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou later submitted targeted FOIA requests seeking records concerning any proposed, contemplated, initiated, or completed debarment or related grant-eligibility action, HHS-OIG reported on July 2, 2026 that a thorough search located no responsive documents concerning either individual.
That determination is documented here:
The September FBI release resolves one previously unanswered question: Dr. Myria Petrou was among the individuals identified in the 2019 debarment record. It also creates a more specific question that the records produced to date do not answer: what was the documented basis for including her?
The complementary FBI releases also indicate that an apparently third individual remains unidentified.
A separate records question remains: why does HHS-OIG report no responsive debarment records concerning Dr. Foerster or Dr. Petrou when contemporaneous FBI records documented the process as underway and later stated that HHS intended to pursue it?
Primary Documentary Records
Exhibit 1 — June 2026 FBI Record Produced in Foerster v. U.S. Department of Justice
The February 21, 2019 FBI Electronic Communication, “Restitution and debarment both in process.” This version identifies Dr. Bradley Foerster in the debarment passage while the other identifying information remains redacted.
Exhibit 2 — September 8, 2026 FBI FOIPA Release Letter to Dr. Myria Petrou
The FBI cover letter documents the separate FOIPA release to Dr. Petrou concerning the investigation of NIH Grant R01NS082304.
Exhibit 3 — February 21, 2019 FBI Record Released to Dr. Myria Petrou
The newly released version of “Restitution and debarment both in process.” This version reveals Dr. Petrou’s identity in the debarment passage while an apparently third identity remains redacted.
Exhibit 4 — Annual NIH Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) Participant Records for NIH Grant R01NS082304, 2015–2018
The participant pages from the grant’s annual NIH RPPRs provide context concerning the funded personnel and reported effort associated with NIH Grant R01NS082304.
Exhibit 5 — University of Michigan FOIA Release and NIH Grant R01NS082304 Ledger
The July 30, 2021 University of Michigan FOIA response documents the release of financial activity for NIH Grant R01NS082304. The accompanying grant ledger records the February 28, 2019 financial adjustments involving Duaa Altaee’s salary and fringe benefits and associated indirect costs.
HHS-OIG Case 5-17-0-0192-4 Documentary Chronology
← Previous
|
Return to HHS-OIG Documentary Chronology
|
Next →
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.