VA’s former EHR lead indicted for concealing contractor gifts
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The Department of Justice alleges that John Windom accepted and sometimes demanded various gifts while helming the electronic health record modernization at Veterans Affairs.
A senior executive working within the Department of Veterans Affairs was charged with failing to disclose a slew of different gifts given to him by contractors working with the agency on its health records modernization, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.
John Windom served as the executive director at the Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization within the VA from 2017 to 2021.
The Department of Justice alleges that, while working on the $16 billion acquisition and deployment of the VA’s new electronic health records solution, Windom accepted a number of gifts, including thousands of dollars of cash, casino chips, gift cards and other items from contractors while helming the project.
Windom failed to report the gifts, which were both given to him and allegedly demanded by him during his tenure helming the VA office. Notably, the indictment states that, based on his previous employee training, Windom was “fully aware” of ethics laws that prohibited him from accepting gifts from contractors working with the VA.
The indictment charges him with concealment of material facts, false statements and falsification of a record or document following his failure to report the gifts.
“As alleged, the defendant exploited his senior position for personal gain and concealed gifts and financial relationships that created serious conflicts of interest in the health care of our nation’s veterans,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. “Such conduct is not only a betrayal of the public trust — it undermines confidence in the institutions dedicated to serving those who have sacrificed for this country. Our office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute public corruption wherever it occurs, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting the integrity of the programs that support America’s veterans.”
Penalties for each charge vary. The charge of falsification of records and documents carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, and making false statements carries a maximum of 5 years. Both additionally carry potential financial penalties.