Former U.S. Army Green Beret Accused Of Spying For Russia

GAINESVILLE, VA — A former U.S. Army Green Beret living in Gainesville was arrested Friday for allegedly conspiring with Russian intelligence operatives for more than a decade to provide them with national defense information, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins, 45, allegedly provided Russian intelligence agents with information from December 1996 to January 2011, some of which he obtained as a member of the U.S. Army, including information about his chemical and Special Forces units, according to the indictment.

Debbins served as an active member of the U.S. Army from 1998 until he was honorably discharged in 2005. During that time, he was granted a secret security clearance in 1996 and then was granted a top secret security clearance in 2004.

“Debbins violated his oath as a U.S. Army officer, betrayed the Special Forces and endangered our country’s national security by revealing classified information to Russian intelligence officers, providing details of his unit, and identifying Special Forces team members for Russian intelligence to try to recruit as a spy," John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security said Friday in a statement.

Debbins was born in Minnesota and is a U.S. citizen. His mother immigrated to Minnesota from the former Soviet Union. He met his now-wife in Chelyabinsk, a city in Russia with a nearby Russian air force base, according to the indictment. Debbins' father-in-law was an officer in the Russian military and lived in Chelyabinsk. Debbins' wife, who was born in Russia, was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in July 2010, according to the indictment.

According to county records, Debbins bought a house in the Wentworth Green subdivision in Gainesville in 2013, the Prince William Times reported Monday.

Prior to starting his active duty service, Debbins was a member of the ROTC at the University of Minnesota. Between his graduation from college in September 1997 and returning to the United States to start his active duty service in July 1998, he lived and worked in Russia.

In October 1997, prior to starting his activity duty services, Debbins allegedly was assigned a code name — lkar Lesnikov — by Russian intelligence agents and signed a statement attesting that he wanted to serve Russia, according to the Justice Department.

In 2008, after leaving active duty service, Debbins allegedly disclosed classified information to the Russian intelligence agents about his previous activities while deployed with the special forces, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said.

Debbins also allegedly provided Russian intelligence agents with information about his former Special Forces team members so Russian agents could evaluate whether to approach the team members to see if they would cooperate with the Russian intelligence service, according to the indictment.

Debbins is currently being held in a detention center in Alexandria. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.