RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia Department of Health declined to release 753 messages from leadership at the agency as well as leadership in the Office of Emergency Medical Services related to public records requests from CBS6 into “possible financial irregularities” at the OEMS.
VDH Chief Operating Officer Christopher Lindsay said in November that the OEMS, which is part of VDH, faced a multi-million-dollar deficit after budgets were created for years that exceeded available funds. He also said an internal review showed contracts were overspent and there have been years of moving funds from one source to another to cover shortfalls with little to no oversight.
The VDH has declined to tell CBS 6 the exact budget deficit the office faces, but the Virginia State Police did confirm it was investigating allegations of financial irregularities involving the OEMS.
The State Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District are also investigating.
Through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, CBS6 requested emails, text messages and other correspondence to and from Camela Crittenden, who is the current Acting Director of the OEMS, Gary Brown, the former Director of the OEMS, VDH COO Christopher Lindsay, and Tiffany Ford, the Deputy Commissioner for Administration at the VDH, over a 5 week period.
We requested specific search terms, including “missing money.”
In their responses, the VDH said it was not mandatory that they withhold the 753 messages, but they were choosing to for the following reasons:
1. VDH has entirely withheld six messages pursuant to section 2.2-3705.7(2) of the Code of Virginia as Confidential Governor’s Working Papers are exempt from mandatory disclosure.
2. VDH has entirely withheld four messages pursuant to Code of Virginia section 2.2-3705.3(7). Investigative notes, correspondence and information furnished in confidence, and records otherwise exempted by this chapter or any Virginia statute, provided to or produced by or for … (iv) the Office of the State Inspector General with respect to an investigation initiated through the Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline or an investigation initiated pursuant to Chapter 3.2 (§ 2.2-307 et seq.) are exempt from mandatory disclosure.
3. VDH has entirely withheld one-hundred sixty-three messages pursuant to Code of Virginia section 2.2-3705.3 (7), which states that “Investigative notes, correspondence and information furnished in confidence, and records otherwise exempted by this chapter or any Virginia statute, provided to or produced by or for…(v) internal auditors appointed by the head of a state agency…,” are exempt from mandatory disclosure.
4. VDH is withholding 580 emails that were
returned from a keyword search of Mr. Brown’s email account for the terms you provided for the time period indicated in your request. The responsive emails are being entirely withheld pursuant to Code of Virginia section 2.2-3705.3 (7), which states that “Investigative notes, correspondence and information furnished in confidence, and records otherwise exempted by this chapter or any Virginia statute, provided to or produced by or for…(v) internal auditors appointed by the head of a state agency…” are excluded from mandatory disclosure.
The agency did release a small number of emails but withheld some attachments related to those emails for the following reason:
Of the records being released the following emails’ attachments have been withheld pursuant to Code of Virginia section 2.2-3705.3 (7), which states that “Investigative notes, correspondence and information furnished in confidence, and records otherwise exempted by this chapter or any Virginia statute, provided to or produced by or for…(v) internal auditors appointed by the head of a state agency…,” are exempt from mandatory disclosure. Attachment referenced on page:
Page 1: FY23 OEMS Locality Payments.xlsx
Page 3: ESO-113220.pdf, ESO-113505.pdf, ESO-115356.pdf, ESO-110221.pdf, ESO-113616.pdf, ESO-111070.pdf, ESO-117630.pdf, ESO-115451.pdf
Page 9: ESO-115356.pdf,
Page 763: ESO Timelines 090523.docx
Page 794: ESO – Western Virginia EMS Council-Virginia Office of EMS – Amdt 8 SOW State Trauma & iOS App – 5-31-23.pdf
VDH has said it was conducting an internal audit into the finances at the OEMS when they discovered “possible financial irregularities.”
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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