Town and Gown: Ann Arbor Police Department Search Warrants, the University of Michigan’s Hall Render Investigation That Turned Against Dr. Bradley Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou, a $250,000 NIH Repayment, and Bank of Ann Arbor’s Unreconciled Sheriff’s-Sale Accounting
On October 24 and 25, 2026, Dr. Bradley Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou placed the same unresolved documentary record before the University of Michigan, Michigan authorities, and Department of Justice counsel.
The sequence was direct: Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou asked the University to explain the University’s actions, asked Michigan authorities to investigate the unreconciled financial record, and asked DOJ counsel whether 16 pages still withheld in Dr. Foerster’s pending FOIA litigation could help explain how the records fit together.
The record crosses institutional lines.
The Ann Arbor Police Department (AAPD) opened a criminal investigation of Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou and obtained search warrants in February 2017 over a dispute that the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office described approximately one year later as clearly a civil matter. After execution of the search warrants, Bank of Ann Arbor stopped accepting payments from Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou on Loan No. 500987.
The sheriff’s sale followed on August 3, 2017. Bank of Ann Arbor purchased the properties through credit bids totaling approximately $1.4 million. The Bank’s subsequent loan accounting remains unreconciled. Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou later provided AAPD and Bank of Ann Arbor with written authorization for the Bank to release the complete loan and financial records directly to police. AAPD did not obtain the complete financial file needed to account for the sheriff’s-sale funds.
At the University, the Office of General Counsel hired Hall Render to investigate concerns reported by Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou about NIH grant R01NS082304. Hall Render did not keep the investigation focused on the reported concerns. Hall Render expanded the investigation to scrutinize the conduct, credibility, and motivation of Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou—turning the investigation against Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou, who had reported the concerns.
Hall Render’s November 3, 2017 draft report also discussed a possible NIH repayment obligation. Hall Render’s recommendations for the University’s “next steps” remain substantially redacted.
A recently obtained FBI record states that HHS informed the FBI that the University returned approximately $250,000 in NIH grant funds purportedly “inappropriately disbursed by Dr. Bradley Foerster.” Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou received no notice of the repayment, authorized no repayment, and knowingly provided no money for the repayment.
Bank records separately show an approximately $261,119 difference between the sheriff’s-sale credit bids and the principal reduction later recorded by Bank of Ann Arbor. The Bank has not answered whether a third party received money or another transfer of value, or whether another financial interest affected the sale proceeds.
The documents do not establish that the approximately $250,000 NIH repayment and the approximately $261,119 difference involved the same money. The documents establish the need for the underlying records and a documented accounting.
The federal record adds another layer. Dr. Foerster’s FBI file bears the case title “University of Michigan; Theft or Bribery Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds.” The FBI file documents the NIH-grant investigation, the University’s repayment, and discussions of restitution and debarment. The FBI file also contains Russia-Gate information and an “INTELPRODS” subfile opened by the FBI “to serve as a repository for intelligence reports.”
University records document direct FBI communications with University of Michigan Office of General Counsel attorney Christine Gerdes. The University located two Russia-Gate-responsive records in the Gerdes files and a separate FBI-generated record concerning Dr. Foerster and/or Dr. Petrou. The University withheld all three records.
The University records show the gown. AAPD records show the town-and-gown bridge. The FBI file shows the federal extension. The withheld records prevent a complete accounting of how the pieces fit together.
Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou first asked University Vice President and General Counsel Patricia Petrowski to explain Hall Render’s redacted recommendations, the approximately $250,000 NIH repayment, the source and authorization for the repayment, and the FBI-generated record withheld by the University.
Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou also asked whether University records connect the repayment to the sheriff’s sale, Bank of Ann Arbor Loan No. 500987, or any person purporting to act on behalf of Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou.
The complete three-page email appears below.
Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou then forwarded the record to AAPD Chief Andre Anderson, Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, and Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
The email asked why no Michigan authority had obtained the complete Bank file, traced the sheriff’s-sale funds, or provided a coordinated response. The email did not claim that the approximately $250,000 NIH repayment and the approximately $261,119 difference represented the same money. The email asked the appropriate authority to obtain the records and determine whether any connection existed.
The first two pages appear below. Page two shows that the Petrowski correspondence and four supporting records accompanied the request.
Dr. Foerster next forwarded the record to Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly Stratton in Foerster v. U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Action No. 1:25-cv-03277-CJN.
The FBI has processed 520 pages from Dr. Foerster’s file. Sixteen pages remain in consultation with an entity that is not a party to the litigation. The FBI previously described the entity as an “Other Government Agency.” Dr. Foerster’s September 24, 2026 inquiry concerning the 16 pages received no response.
Dr. Foerster asked the FBI to confirm or rule out whether the 16 pages concern the University, HHS-OIG, NIH grant R01NS082304, the approximately $250,000 repayment, restitution, debarment, Hall Render, Russia-Gate, the “INTELPRODS” subfile, or the FBI-generated record withheld by the University.
Dr. Foerster did not assume that any of those subjects formed part of the consultation. Dr. Foerster asked the FBI to answer the questions and provide a concrete completion date before the November 10, 2026 joint status report.
The first two pages appear below. Page two shows that the Petrowski correspondence and supporting records were forwarded to DOJ counsel.
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.