Not knighted, but indicted. The former executive director of the VA’s Office of EHR Modernization (OEHRM) from 2017 to 2021, John H. Windom, was charged with failing to disclose cash and gifts from vendors, then making false statements to investigators in failing to report those gifts. The three counts were brought by a grand jury in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia on 25 March. They were originally sworn in on 30 October 2025.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the charges carry a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, with false statements adding another five years maximum per charge and possible financial penalties. The three counts involve violations of United States Code (USC) Title 18, Sections 1001 and 1519.

As executive director for the OEHRM, Mr. Windom was responsible for leading the long-term vision, strategic management, technical direction, acquisition, and deployment of the Cerner EHR in the VA that was announced in June 2017 and awarded in May 2028. He is being charged with accepting and soliciting gifts and cash from a group of VA contractors and subcontractors he termed the “Power Group”, then failing to disclose them according to law. This group included eight persons in seven independent minority-owned contractor companies in IT and health IT services and technology, management consulting, diversity and inclusion work, project management, business development, and general support services. Two companies were prime contractors directly on the VA EHRM project and overseen by Mr. Windom. 

He is accused of flagrantly accepting and demanding cash and gifts from the contractors, including meals, drinks, entertainment, casino chips from the MGM National Harbor and Aria Las Vegas, and gift cards for Louis Vuitton luggage totalling over $15,600. His demands from individuals and interactions with them are extensively detailed in the indictment. Mr. Windom also failed to report gifts on standard VA forms, and denied the gifts to Federal law enforcement officials interviewing him twice in 2021. In 2024, when interviewed again, Mr. Windom admitted accepting chips. The gift acceptances from vendors with clear conflicts of interest and failures to report, including on his required annual public financial disclosure form, were violations of established Federal ethics laws and regulations restricting gifts. 

According to the indictment, he also pressured the vendors to make business decisions unrelated to the EHRM that advanced certain personal diversity objectives and then demanded to be rewarded. He also threatened this Power Group with economic and reputational harm, particularly but not only related to his diversity networking expectations (General Allegations, point 14).

John Windom, aged 64, has an interesting background. He joined the VA in September 2017 after retiring from service as a Navy Captain. While in the Navy, he had direct experience of the Cerner EHR implementation at the Department of Defense (DoD) as a program manager for their Defense Healthcare Management System Modernization Program. His 2017 appointment as executive director of the OEHRM replaced Genevieve Morris, interim chief health information officer, who had moved from ONC in July but resigned almost immediately in August citing a change in direction (MedCityNews). He became a three-year Limited Term Senior Executive Service (SES) member, a prestigious status in the Federal Government. As OEHRM ED, he reported to the Deputy Secretary of the VA and shifted after the May 2018 selection to onboarding the Cerner EHR. He became a career SES in July 2020. His Federal biography for Congress from this time is here. Mr. Windom was reassigned from OEHRM in April 2022, moving to deputy director of the Federal Electronic Health Management Office, a joint DoD-VA initiative to support the delivery of a single, integrated EHR.  It is not clear where or if he is currently employed. 

US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said in the DOJ release “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. 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.” The case is being investigated by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI Washington Field Office, and the Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General (OIG). It is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Emily Miller. No timeline for the start of the trial was announced.

None of this seems to have directly involved Cerner, now Oracle Health, per the indictment. But in this Editor’s opinion, because of Mr. Windom’s role in the selection of the Cerner EHR and the disastrous implementation of VA Mann-Grandstaff (VISN 20) in October 2020 and four more in 2022, all terminated in 2023, Oracle would be unwise to not prepare for a few questions about Cerner’s relationship with Mr. Windom. 

Both Senate and House VA committee chairs are highly concerned about this indictment. Apparently, it will not delay (and reasonably should not) the scheduled rollout of the 13 VA locations starting this month [TTA 8 Feb].

News sources include Federal News Network, Healthcare IT News, and Military Times.