US army doctor and wife accused of spying for Russia during the Ukraine-Russia war

Credit: GETTY IMAGES

A plot to leak information to the Russian government has been accused by a US army major doctor and her wife, a civilian doctor.

The alleged scheme by Jamie Lee Henry and Anna Gabrielian to share patient data secrecy at a military hospital.

The two allegedly admitted to an undercover FBI agent that they were driven by Russian patriotism.

The couple's representatives have not yet offered any comments on the situation.

The Russian government has also made no comments.

In an indictment submitted to a court in Baltimore, Maryland, which was unsealed on Thursday, the two were accused of conspiring and disclosing personally identifiable health information.

According to the prosecution, the couple wanted to "gain insights into the medical conditions of people connected to the US government and military" for the Russian government.

Maj Henry was employed by North Carolina's Fort Bragg, a sizable military installation. She intended to access confidential medical records from the hospital at Fort Bragg and another unnamed medical facility using her security clearance, according to the indictment.

Dr. Gabrielian was employed by Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital.

A few months ago, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, she allegedly offered assistance to the Russian embassy in Washington.

She was approached by a man who claimed to be from the Russian embassy but was actually an FBI agent in the middle of August.

She told the agent, according to the indictment, that she was "motivated by patriotism toward Russia to provide any assistance she could to Russia, even if it meant being fired or going to jail," during the meeting.

She is accused of telling the agent that she had access to medical records at the base and knowledge of how the US was preparing its military to aid Ukraine while also offering to bring her wife into the scheme.

Maj. Henry allegedly disclosed to the agent at a later meeting that she was also committed to Russia and had thought about enlisting in the Russian army.

She reportedly stated that she had concerns about the couple's alleged violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Dr. Gabrielian, however, is said to have had no such worries and later in August gave some information.

After receiving permission from the army to formally change her name and gender in 2015—the same year the couple got married—major Henry became the first known active-duty US Army officer to come out as transgender.