Jamie Lee Henry, the first openly trans US Army officer, and wife Anna Gabrielian are facing federal indictment for allegedly trying to provide confidential health information to the Russian government. They have been charged with conspiracy and wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information (IIHI).
Henry, 39, came out as transgender in 2015 while serving as a doctor and major in the Army’s Medical Corps. Henry’s wife, Anna Gabrielian, 36, is an anesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins. Her profile reveals that she speaks both English and Russian.
The couple reportedly reached out to the Russian embassy and offered to turn over medical records of patients at both Johns Hopkins and Fort Bragg. However, while they thought they were in contact with a member of the Russian embassy, they were really dealing with an undercover FBI agent.
The eight-count indictment issued by the US Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski reported that Gabrielian and Henry “conspired to cause harm to the United States by providing confidential health information of Americans associated with the United States government and military to Russia.”
The accused pair specifically offered to give Russia IIHI in order to demonstrate their access to private American documents that could be exploited by the Russians.
Gabrielian and Henry had been in contact with an undercover FBI agent, whom they believed to be associated with the Russian government. This agent contacted Gabrielian in mid-August, claiming to be reaching out about the assistance she offered the Embassy a few months prior.
Gabrielian appears to have taken the lead in contacting the Russian government, at first trying to keep Henry in a place of plausible deniability.
On August 17, 2022, Gabrielian went to a hotel in Baltimore to meet with the undercover agent, where she revealed she was motivated by “patriotism toward Russia,” which was strong enough to risk jail time.
Despite wanting to keep Henry in the realm of plausible deniability, Gabrielian insisted to the undercover agent that Henry would be a valuable resource for the Russians since he had access to military-related information, including training given to Ukrainian troops.
Later, Gabrielian returned to meet with the undercover agent, but this time Henry joined her. In the meeting, Henry explained that they wanted to help the Russian Army in the conflict with Ukraine. They again offered to provide private medical records from the US Army and Medical Institution 1.
The indictment said, “Henry explained to the [undercover agent that they were] committed to assisting Russia, and he had looked into volunteering to join the Russian Army after the conflict in Ukraine began, but Russia wanted people with ‘combat experience,’ and he did not have any.”
Henry, who held a secret-level security clearance at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, also detailed their opinion of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, saying “the way I am viewing what is going on in Ukraine now, is that the United States is using Ukrainians as a proxy for their own hatred toward Russia.”
On August 31, 2022, Gabrielian brought the undercover agent IIHI related to two people, one of whom is the spouse of an employee at the Office of Naval Intelligence. Gabrielian pointed out the employee’s medical condition that Russia might be able to “exploit.”
Henry provided IIHI for five individuals, either military veterans or related to veterans.
A spokesperson for Johns Hopkins Medicine said, “We were shocked to learn about this news this morning and intend to fully cooperate with investigators.”
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy, and a maximum of 10 years for each count of disclosing IIHI.
