A former Army Green Beret from Northern Virginia has been arrested and charged with spying for Russia. He could face life in prison if convicted for allegedly spying for Russia and providing them national defense information, according to the DOJ.
A copy of the full report is HERE.
Court documents reveal that Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins, 45, of Gainesville, Virginia, is accused is conspiring with Russian agents between December 1996 and January 2011.
He reportedly visited Russia numerous times and was assigned a code name by Russian intelligence agents. He even signed a statement attesting that he wanted to serve Russia.
“According to the allegations, Mr. Debbins knowingly provided information to self-proclaimed members of Russia’s Intelligence Service, the GRU,” said James A. Dawson, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. “As a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, the American people and his fellow servicemen and women should have been able to trust Debbins with secrets, information, and. Debbins allegedly fell very short of that and exploited his role in the military and his fellow service members to benefit one of our top adversaries for years. Today’s charges are another example of the dedicated and unrelenting efforts of the FBI and our partners, domestic and international, to aggressively pursue and bring to justice those who violate this sacred trust and place our national security at risk.”
Debbins reportedly served in the Army from 1998 until 2005 on active duty. He served in chemical units before being selected for U.S. Army Special Forces. According to the DOJ, Russian intelligence agents encouraged him to spy.
The DOJ says that Debbins provided Russia with information obtained as an Army officer, including information about his chemical and Special Forces units. He reportedly gave Russian intel the names of, and information about his fellow Special Forces team members so that Russian agents could determine if they should approach them for possible collusion.
He is charged with conspiring to provide national defense information to agents of a foreign government.
