A Baltimore anesthetist and his major U.S. Army wife were indicted by the federal government on Wednesday in an alleged conspiracy to leak health information to the Russian government to help it in its war in Ukraine.
Dr Anna Gabrielian, 36, and Major Jamie Lee Henry, 39 and also a doctor, face eight counts, including conspiracy and wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information. The indictment was filed in the US District Court.
Records from the Maryland Board of Physicians show that Gabrielian and Henry’s main practices are at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The indictment, however, stated at the time of the alleged conspiracy that Henry was a staff internist stationed at Fort Bragg, an Army installation in North Carolina and headquarters of Army Special Operations Command. American where Henry had a secret-level security clearance.
The indictment says the couple, who live in Rockville, sought to pass federally protected medical information to an undercover FBI agent who Gabrielian said worked at the Russian Embassy on patients from Fort Bragg and others, and to provide information on American wartime medical capabilities. conditions.
The indictment says Gabrielian told the officer she was “motivated by patriotism toward Russia to provide whatever assistance she could to Russia, even if it meant being fired or to go to jail”.
The indictment does not explain Gabrielian’s connection to Russia, but the Johns Hopkins website said she spoke Russian.
If convicted, the couple faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy and a maximum of 10 years on each count of disclosing protected medical information.
The indictment was unsealed after the two were arrested on Thursday, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which announced the indictment with the FBI’s Baltimore field office.
Gabrielian and Henry appeared for the first time in US District Court in Baltimore on Thursday. Both were released under home supervision. Gabrielian was also released on $500,000 bail.
Hopkins did not respond to questions about the couple’s employment status, but Kim Hoppe, a spokeswoman, said: “We were shocked to hear this news this morning and intend to cooperate fully with investigators.”
Gabrielian Hopkins’ online profile lists her as an instructor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine. Henry didn’t seem to have a current profile.
The indictment states that beginning August 17, they conspired “to cause harm to the United States by providing Russia with confidential health information about Americans associated with the government and military. United States”.
The information was provided, the indictment says, to demonstrate their access to Americans’ health information, their willingness to provide it to the Russian government, and the opportunity for Russians to gain insight into people’s medical conditions. within the US government and the US military for the Russians to exploit
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The indictment says Gabrielian contacted the Russian Embassy by email and phone to offer his and Henry’s assistance. Since then, the couple have twice met in a Baltimore hotel with someone they believe represented the government, but was the undercover FBI agent. Henry also indicated at the meeting his willingness to volunteer for the Russian Army in Ukraine but lacked combat experience.
While the indictment said they wanted “plausible deniability” if confronted by US authorities, they nevertheless requested that, if arrested, Gabrielian wanted their children “to have a safe flight to Turkey to go on vacation because I don’t want to end up in jail here with my kids held hostage over my head.
On August 31, according to the indictment, Gabrielian and Henry met with the agent at a hotel in Gaithersburg and provided health records for two people, including the spouse of an Office of Naval Intelligence employee. , who Gabrielian said had a medical condition. Russia could exploit. Henry, according to the indictment, provided the medical records of five other people who were military veterans or relatives.
Someone answering the phone at the Silver Spring law office of Teresa Whalen, Gabrielian’s attorney, said the attorney was out of town and not responding to any inquiries.
Henry’s attorney, David Walsh Little of Baltimore, would not respond to the indictment allegations, but said, “Dr. Henry had his first court appearance this afternoon and, thankfully, he was released to house arrest.
Henry has been mentioned in several news articles since 2015 as the Army’s first openly transgender active duty officer.
Baltimore Sun reporter Lee O. Sanderlin contributed to this article.
