Case dismissed against Maryland couple accused of patient privacy violations to help Russia

BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal judge has tossed a case against a Maryland couple accused of divulging patients’ medical records as part of a conspiracy to aid Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie Gallagher on Wednesday said the government “bungled” speedy trial procedures ahead of an attempted retrial and dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the case can’t be refiled, The Baltimore Sun reported.

“The Government displayed a serious pattern of neglect of its speedy trial obligations during the six months between November, 2023 and May, 2024,” Gallagher wrote. “In this case dismissal without prejudice would be a toothless sanction to the Government:”

Former Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist Dr. Anna Gabrielian and her spouse, Dr. Jamie Lee Henry, a physician and U.S. Army major, were charged in 2022 with violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act as part of a conspiracy to assist Russia by disclosing several patients’ health information that Moscow could exploit. Authorities said the patients included some from the U.S. Army base in North Carolina formerly known as Fort Bragg.

When Gabrielian and Henry were first charged and released on home detention, Maryland Board of Physicians records showed their primary practices were at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Blinken will head to eastern Europe as concerns mount about Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline