500+ Pages of FBI Records: FBI Repeatedly Says the U.S. Attorney’s Office Declined Prosecution — The U.S. Attorney’s Office Twice Reports No Responsive Records. Was the NIH Grant the Predicate for the FBI Investigation??
More than 500 pages of FBI records and audio have now been processed in response to Dr. Bradley Foerster’s request for his FBI file.
Federal records repeatedly document that criminal prosecution was declined by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. Yet that office has now twice reported no responsive records—including after a targeted search using the FBI case number itself.
Against that record, two basic questions remain:
Was the HHS-OIG investigation concerning NIH Grant R01NS082304 the investigative predicate, in whole or in part, for the FBI activity reflected in more than 500 pages of records and audio?
And if the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined prosecution—as the FBI repeatedly documents—where is the U.S. Attorney’s Office record of that disposition and the reason for it?
On September 24, 2026, Dr. Foerster put those questions directly to FBI Special Agent Sue Lucas, the FBI’s Ann Arbor office, and Detroit Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan.
Was the NIH Grant Investigation the Predicate?
HHS-OIG Case No. 5-17-0-0192-4 concerned alleged fraud involving NIH Grant R01NS082304.
The August 21, 2019 HHS-OIG Closing Investigative Memorandum states that the matter was investigated for possible violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666 and that discussions with the U.S. Attorney resulted in a declination of criminal prosecution.
FBI records separately describe HHS as “jointly investigating this matter with the FBI.”
The September 11, 2026 Joint Status Report in Foerster v. U.S. Department of Justice states that the FBI processed 520 pages of records and audio in response to Dr. Foerster’s FOIA request, with another 16 pages still in consultation.
Against that record, the September 24 letter asks whether the HHS-OIG investigation concerning NIH Grant R01NS082304 was the investigative predicate, in whole or in part, for the FBI activity reflected in those records.
If the grant investigation was only one part of broader FBI activity, the letter asks the FBI to identify the other predicate or predicates.
This is not the first time Dr. Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou have asked federal investigators to identify the basis for the investigative activity. In May 2026, Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou submitted a written inquiry to the FBI and HHS-OIG concerning the investigative predicate and probable cause underlying the investigation .
The September 24 letter renews that question after additional FBI, HHS-OIG, and DOJ records became available.
Was the March 2, 2018 FBI Interview Part of the Grant Investigation?
The predicate question also reaches back to a specific event.
On March 2, 2018, Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou were interviewed at the FBI’s Ann Arbor office by Special Agent Sue Lucas and an individual who identified himself to them as HHS-OIG Special Agent Tyson Howard.
HHS-OIG later advised that it could locate no record of an HHS-OIG employee named Tyson Howard.
Dr. Foerster has made numerous inquiries to Special Agent Lucas concerning that interview without receiving a response resolving these questions.
The September 24 letter therefore asks whether the March 2 interview was conducted as part of the NIH grant/HHS-OIG investigation and whether the resulting interview record became part of FBI Case No. 46H-DE-2595857.
The FBI records describe a decision: an assigned Assistant U.S. Attorney advised that no criminal charges would be brought. HHS-OIG’s August 21, 2019 closing memorandum also records a prosecution declination. In December 2019, FBI Serial 36 named the office that declined prosecution: the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Dr. Foerster sought the records behind that decision. In July 2026, the Executive Office for United States Attorneys reported that a search of the Eastern District of Michigan revealed no responsive records.
On September 17, Dr. Foerster submitted a second request using FBI Case No. 46H-DE-2595857, together with the HHS-OIG case number, NIH grant number, and both Dr. Foerster’s and Dr. Petrou’s names. The September 24 response listed those identifiers—and again reported no responsive records.
That second response left the central question unanswered. Federal investigative records described a prosecution decision, but neither search located the prosecutor’s records explaining it. The September 24 letter cited Justice Manual guidance stating that a declination and its reasons should be “also reflected in the office files.”
Dr. Foerster therefore returned to the FBI: Was this case referred or otherwise presented to the Eastern District of Michigan for consideration of criminal prosecution? If so, when, by whom, and what FBI record documents the declination and its reasons?
The underlying records, both search responses, and the administrative appeal appear in the related documentary post.
Did University of Michigan Records Enter the FBI Investigation?
A third question concerns the 16 pages still undergoing consultation in the pending FOIA litigation.
The September 24 letter asks whether the University of Michigan is the entity involved in that consultation and whether Hall Render or Regents’ Bylaw 5.09 records were received, reviewed, incorporated into, or relied upon in FBI Case No. 46H-DE-2595857.
The letter expressly acknowledges that the exact 16-page match identified in three University records may be coincidental.
The underlying records question is documented separately here:
Why the Predicate Matters
The federal investigative activity occurred contemporaneously with University of Michigan proceedings involving the same NIH grant.
Before the University initiated the 5.09 dismissal proceedings, Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou had engaged in protected activity concerning NIH Grant R01NS082304, including reporting financial concerns involving the grant, sexual harassment, and retaliation. The University subsequently used issues concerning the same grant as part of the basis for proceedings seeking Dr. Foerster’s dismissal from his tenured faculty position. Dr. Foerster ultimately resigned in connection with those proceedings.
Neither Dr. Foerster nor Dr. Petrou knew at the time that the federal investigative activity had also involved consideration of criminal prosecution and debarment concerning both Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou. Those matters became known years later through FBI records released in the pending FOIA litigation.
Identifying the predicate therefore bears directly on the chronology, provenance, and independence of the information used in the federal investigation and the contemporaneous University proceedings.
September 24, 2026 — FBI Asked Directly
The complete four-page September 24 letter is reproduced below.
The complete September 24 letter, supporting exhibits, and fax confirmation are available here:
September 24, 2026 FBI Follow-Up Letter, Supporting Exhibits, and Fax Confirmation
The letter and exhibits were transmitted by fax to the FBI’s Ann Arbor office on September 24. The fax confirmation records a 14-page transmission with the result “OK.”
No response to the September 24, 2026 letter appears in the available record.
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.