A married US Army doctor and an anesthesiologist have been accused of conspiring to provide the Russian government with medical information about US soldiers and their relatives.
Maj. Jamie Lee Henry had a secret security clearance, while their wife Anna Gabrielian is a Russian-speaker affiliated with Johns Hopkins Hospital.
They are accused of providing sensitive information to an undercover FBI agent posing as a representative of the Russian Embassy.
According to the Justice Department, the FBI learned that Gabrielian had offered assistance to Russia through its embassy in Washington.
It is alleged that Gabrielian met the undercover agent in a hotel room last month – and said ‘she was motivated by patriotism towards Russia to provide whatever assistance she could to the Russia, even if it meant getting fired or going to jail.”
Gabrielian told the agent that she contacted the Russian embassy by email and phone, offering Russia assistance from her and his wife Henry, the indictment says.
The indictment refers to Henry as male – but in 2015 they were made public as the first openly transgender Army officer.
Marcia Murphy, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s office in Baltimore, said Henry viewed himself as a man during interactions with the undercover FBI agent.
It is also alleged that Henry considered volunteering to join the Russian army after the conflict in Ukraine began, but Russia wanted people with combat experience and Henry had none.
“The way I see what is happening in Ukraine right now is that the US is using Ukrainians as a proxy for their own hatred towards Russia,” Henry reportedly added.
Gabrielian expressed concern for his children, demanding that they have a “good flight to Turkey to go on holiday because I don’t want to end up in jail here with my children held hostage over my head”.
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On August 31, the FBI agent met Gabrielian and Henry at a hotel in Maryland, near Washington DC.
Gabrielian gave the agent medical information about the spouse of someone employed by the Office of Naval Intelligence – and highlighted a medical condition that Russia could exploit, the indictment claims.
Henry allegedly provided information on at least five people who were patients at Fort Bragg, including a retired Army officer, a current Department of Defense employee, the spouse of a U.S. Army veteran and two spouses of deceased US Army veterans.
Court records indicate that Gabrielian and Henry were arrested – it was unclear whether they had attorneys.
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The defendants face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy and a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for each count of health information disclosure.
In a statement, a Johns Hopkins Medicine spokesperson said, “We were shocked to hear this news this morning and intend to cooperate fully with investigators.”
