District of Vermont Assistant United States Attorney Owen C.J. Foster Recognized at DOJ’s Director’s Awards Ceremony

Assistant United States Attorney Owen C.J. Foster of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont was one of 162 members of the Department of Justice recognized by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director James Crowell, IV at the 34th Director’s Awards Ceremony today in Washington D.C.

The District of Vermont was one of 35 districts represented at the ceremony that was held in the Great Hall at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building.

In addressing the award recipients and guests, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said, “Today’s honorees earned the esteem of their colleagues. But most importantly, they earned the gratitude of our fellow citizens — the people whose communities you made safer, whose lives you improved, and whose trust you rewarded. Today, we pause to honor and recognize a small portion of your work.”

AUSA Foster received the award for Superior Performance as an AUSA-Civil for his outstanding accomplishments in investigating and settling United States ex rel. Delaney v. eClinialWorks LLC, 2:15-CV-00095-WKS (D. Vt.). In its complaint-in-intervention, the government contended that eClinicalWorks falsely obtained that certification for its electronic health records software when it concealed from its certifying entity that its software did not comply with the requirements for certification. Under the terms of the settlement ClinicalWorks, three of its founders, and three of its employees paid a total of $155 million. This is by far the largest False Claims Act recovery in the District of Vermont and was one of the largest in 2017 nationwide. And, it was achieved over a highly-efficient two-year period. AUSA Foster was the leader of the investigation and the driving force behind its progress and ultimate resolution. AUSA Foster, a relatively new AUSA when the case started, had no background in computer science or health care. Nevertheless, he diligently reviewed documents and dug for answers until he, not only understood how EHR systems should work and how eClinicalWorks’ system failed, but also how to discuss those systems with the engineers involved in their development and the lawyers responsible for determining the outcome of the case. AUSA Foster’s devotion and commitment to this case was truly remarkable.

"AUSA Owen Foster successfully carried out a first-of-its-kind investigation with great efficiency and recovered a significant sum of money for the taxpayers,” stated United States Attorney Christina E. Nolan. “AUSA Foster is deserving of the Director’s Award and our gratitude for his public service.”

EOUSA provides oversight, general executive assistance, and direction to the 94 United States Attorneys’ offices around the country. For more information on EOUSA and its mission, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao.