A former senior executive at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was charged this week with allegedly concealing cash and luxury gifts he received from government contractors while overseeing the agency’s Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program.
The Department of Justice announced on March 25 that John Windom, who previously served as the executive director of the VA’s Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization (OEHRM), allegedly failed to disclose thousands of dollars in cash, casino chips, gift cards, and other gifts from contractors.
“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 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,” Pirro said.
Between 2017 and 2021, while Windom was leading the $16 billion EHRM program, he allegedly concealed that he was accepting – and at times demanding – lavish gifts from a group of contractors and subcontractors who worked on the project he oversaw, per the indictment.
Under Windom’s supervision, the VA awarded the EHRM contract – then one of the largest IT contracts in the federal government – to Cerner in May 2018. Oracle completed its acquisition of Cerner in 2022, and the company is now called Oracle Health.
“Windom was accountable for the long-term vision, strategic management and technical direction of the OEHRM,” the indictment says.
The EHRM program has faced scrutiny over cost, deployment delays, and user concerns. The VA paused system rollouts in April 2023 as part of a broader program “reset” aimed at addressing performance and usability issues. To date, the department has deployed the system to six of 164 medical centers.
The agency plans to resume deployments in April with four Michigan facilities. Later in 2026, it plans to deploy the system to nine additional medical facilities with sites located in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Alaska.
The EHRM program aims to provide a seamless experience for veterans as they transition from receiving care under the Department of Defense to receiving care under the VA, with a single, fully integrated EHR system.
VA Inspector General Cheryl Mason said in a statement that the indictment “sends a clear message that the VA OIG is committed to holding individuals accountable, including VA employees who are alleged to have misused their position of public trust for personal gain.”