“Paul Cronin Was the Source”: Dr. Myria Petrou’s EPIC Medical Billing Affidavits and SACUA’s Statement That She Was “Not” Under Oath
By the time Dr. Bradley Foerster appeared before the SACUA Review Committee on May 1, 2019, an important question concerning the EPIC billing allegations remained unresolved: what was Dr. Paul Cronin’s role in raising those concerns?
Dr. Foerster maintained that Dr. Cronin was the source of the EPIC billing concerns. Dr. Myria Petrou had independently documented the same account. But Dr. Cronin did not testify in Dr. Foerster’s 5.09 proceedings.
Dr. Cronin’s absence became consequential. During the SACUA review, Dean Runge’s outside counsel, Mr. Tukel, invoked the lack of testimony, an affidavit, or a recorded statement from Dr. Cronin to challenge Dr. Foerster’s account. Mr. Tukel even questioned “if he was even asked to testify.”
The contemporaneous record answers that question. Dr. Foerster had expressly asked Dr. Cronin to testify under oath. Dr. Cronin acknowledged the request, but did not testify.
Dr. Cronin’s absence was therefore cited against Dr. Foerster even though Dr. Foerster had sought the very testimony whose absence was later invoked.
That made Dr. Petrou’s evidence particularly important.
December 19–21, 2017 — OGC’s Gannett Attribution and Dr. Petrou’s Response
The December 21 affidavit followed a documented exchange with the University of Michigan Office of the Vice President and General Counsel concerning the EPIC allegations and an email reportedly sent to Gannett Press.
On December 19, 2017, Vice President and General Counsel Timothy Lynch sent separate letters to Dr. Petrou and Dr. Foerster concerning the Hall Render investigation. In both letters, Lynch attributed the Gannett communication to Dr. Petrou. His letter to Dr. Petrou described a July 27, 2017 email “sent by you to the Gannett Press.” His parallel letter to Dr. Foerster described the same communication as an email “sent by Dr. Myria Petrou to the Gannett Press,” while identifying Dr. Foerster as one of the faculty members who had signed it.
Dr. Petrou disputed that attribution the following day.
In her December 20 response to Lynch, she wrote:
“You state that I emailed Gannet Press about EPIC concerns. I never did send any emails to Gannet Press or any other press entity.”
Dr. Petrou asked Lynch to provide the purported email and requested that its IP address be investigated. She also offered to provide an affidavit.
In the same response, Dr. Petrou addressed the source of the underlying EPIC concerns. She stated that she had informed the Hall Render attorneys that “the primary concerns regarding EPIC came from Dr. Paul Cronin,” and that Dr. Cronin had sought her and Dr. Foerster’s support in informing University OGC about those concerns.
The next day, December 21, 2017, Dr. Petrou followed through on her offer and executed an affidavit.
Its first substantive statement addressed the disputed Gannett attribution:
“I have never sent any email or any communication to Gannet Press regarding concerns about EPIC at the University of Michigan.”
The affidavit then documented Dr. Cronin’s role, identifying him as the “primary person raising these concerns about EPIC.” Dr. Petrou stated that he began raising the concerns in September 2016 and later sought Dr. Petrou’s and Dr. Foerster’s support in bringing them to University OGC.
The document begins:
“I, Myria Petrou, being duly sworn, state as follows:”
Immediately above her signature, Dr. Petrou declared:
“I DECLARE UNDER THE PENALTIES OF PERJURY THAT THE STATEMENTS ABOVE ARE TRUE AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF MY INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEF.”
The University also received the affidavit.
That same day, Dr. Petrou sent it directly to University of Michigan Office of the Vice President and General Counsel attorney Timothy Lynch and Beth Humpert. She expressly described the document as a notarized affidavit and stated that she would send the materials by certified mail “to ensure you have original copies.”
September 10, 2018 — After Hall Render Had Interviewed Dr. Cronin
Nine months later, after the Hall Render investigation had interviewed Dr. Cronin, Dr. Petrou executed a second affidavit.
The later affidavit addressed what Dr. Petrou said she had told Hall Render attorneys Amy Garrigues and David French about Dr. Cronin’s role in the EPIC matter. Dr. Petrou stated that Dr. Cronin had misidentified Dr. Foerster as the person leading the reporting of the EPIC concerns. She stated:
“Paul Cronin was the source of information regarding the EPIC fraud.”
Dr. Petrou further stated that Dr. Cronin had provided the misinformation “because he was scared of Ella Kazerooni” and because he believed “Brad would be more protected from retaliation given Brad’s status as a tenured faculty.”
Like the December 2017 document, the September 2018 affidavit begins:
“I, Myria Petrou, being duly sworn, state as follows:”
And immediately above her signature, Dr. Petrou again declared that her statements were true and complete to the best of her information, knowledge, and belief:
“UNDER THE PENALTIES OF PERJURY.”
The attached California acknowledgment separately states that the notary verifies the identity of the signer, not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of the underlying document.
That distinction would later become the subject of the May 1, 2019 SACUA exchange.
May 1, 2019 — “No, She’s Not”
During the SACUA hearing, Committee Member Eric Freeman returned directly to the question of Dr. Cronin’s knowledge of the EPIC billing issues.
Freeman asked whether Dr. Cronin was the person who had direct knowledge of those issues.
Dr. Foerster answered:
“That’s correct.”
Dr. Foerster then directed the Committee to Dr. Petrou’s underlying account and noted that she had signed an affidavit concerning the matter.
Freeman responded:
“Yeah, but here is where I'm confused. You're using the term ‘Affidavit’ which simply means that she was verified as the person who made the statement, it doesn't make it true or not, it just says she said it.”
Dr. Foerster asked:
“She’s saying it under oath, right?”
Chair Karen Staller answered:
“No.”
Freeman added:
“No, she’s not.”
Freeman explained that, as he understood it, appearing before a notary verified Dr. Petrou’s identity and was “not being under oath.”
Dr. Foerster responded:
“It’s a signed legal document saying that the statements that she is saying are under oath and are treated as such.”
Freeman concluded:
“I guess I must have misunderstood what a notary is notarizing. Thanks.”
What the Record Shows
There are two separate issues.
A notarial acknowledgment does not itself establish the truth of the factual statements contained in a document. The California acknowledgment attached to Dr. Petrou’s September 2018 affidavit expressly says so.
But what the notary certified and what Dr. Petrou herself declared are not the same thing.
Both affidavits state that Dr. Petrou was “being duly sworn.” Both contain her declaration under the penalties of perjury that her statements were true and complete to the best of her information, knowledge, and belief. And the December 2017 affidavit had been provided directly to University OGC more than a year before the SACUA hearing.
That is what gives the May 1 exchange its significance.
Dr. Cronin did not testify. His absence was invoked to challenge Dr. Foerster’s account that Dr. Cronin was the source of the EPIC billing concerns, even though Dr. Foerster had expressly sought his testimony. Dr. Petrou had independently documented that same source attribution—before and after Hall Render interviewed Dr. Cronin—and expressly stated in her September 2018 affidavit that “Paul Cronin was the source of information regarding the EPIC fraud.”
When Dr. Foerster directed SACUA to Dr. Petrou’s affidavit evidence, the discussion turned instead to whether Dr. Petrou was speaking “under oath.”
The affidavits and the May 1, 2019 transcript preserve that sequence.
Subsequent Employment
The subsequent employment outcomes diverged.
In June 2019, Dr. Ella Kazerooni accepted Dr. Bradley Foerster’s resignation from the University of Michigan with a “do not rehire” designation.
In August 2019, Dr. Paul Cronin resigned from the University of Michigan and joined Emory University. He was subsequently promoted to full professor.
Related Records
Documents Dr. Foerster’s request that Dr. Cronin testify under oath, Dr. Cronin’s acknowledgment of that request, and his subsequent absence from the 5.09 proceedings. During the SACUA review, Dean Runge’s outside counsel later questioned “if he was even asked to testify.” The contemporaneous correspondence establishes that he was.
The EPIC allegations later formed part of one of the four charges against Dr. Foerster in Dean Marschall Runge’s August 6, 2018 dismissal letter. Dr. Ella Kazerooni handed Dr. Foerster the charge letter on his first full day of approved medical leave following spine surgery.
Selected Documentary Record
The following records document the December 2017 OGC correspondence concerning the reported Gannett communication, Dr. Petrou’s response and affidavits concerning Dr. Paul Cronin and the EPIC medical billing concerns, and the later SACUA discussion concerning the evidentiary character of her affidavit.
December 19, 2017 — OGC Letter to Dr. Myria Petrou
University of Michigan Vice President and General Counsel Timothy Lynch informs Dr. Petrou that the Hall Render investigation followed receipt of a July 27, 2017 email that Lynch described as “sent by you to the Gannett Press.”
December 19, 2017 — OGC Letter to Dr. Bradley Foerster
In a parallel letter to Dr. Foerster, Lynch again attributes the communication to Dr. Petrou, describing it as an email “sent by Dr. Myria Petrou to the Gannett Press,” while identifying Dr. Foerster as one of the faculty members who had signed it.
December 20, 2017 — Dr. Myria Petrou Responds to Timothy Lynch
Dr. Petrou disputes the Gannett attribution, asks Lynch to provide the purported email and investigate its IP address, and offers to provide an affidavit. In the same response, she states that she had told the Hall Render attorneys that “the primary concerns regarding EPIC came from Dr. Paul Cronin.”
December 21, 2017 — Dr. Myria Petrou EPIC Medical Billing Affidavit
Dr. Petrou identifies Dr. Cronin as the “primary person raising these concerns about EPIC” and executes the affidavit under a declaration stating that her statements are true and complete to the best of her information, knowledge, and belief under the penalties of perjury.
December 21, 2017 — Email to University OGC Attorney Timothy Lynch and Beth Humpert
Dr. Petrou transmits the affidavit to University OGC, expressly describes it as a notarized affidavit, and states that she will send original copies by certified mail.
September 10, 2018 — Dr. Myria Petrou Affidavit After the Hall Render Investigation Interviewed Dr. Cronin
Dr. Petrou states that “Paul Cronin was the source of information regarding the EPIC fraud” and records what she said she had told Hall Render concerning Dr. Cronin’s identification of Dr. Foerster as the source.
May 1, 2019 — SACUA Review Committee Transcript
The transcript records the Committee’s discussion of Dr. Petrou’s affidavit, including Chair Karen Staller’s “No” and Committee Member Eric Freeman’s “No, she’s not” in response to Dr. Foerster’s question whether Dr. Petrou was making the statements under oath.
5.09 Documentary Chronology
← Previous
|
Return to 5.09 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.