Anna Fermanova
Encyclopedia
Anna Fermanova also known as Anya Fermanov is a Latvian
-American
television personality and alleged smuggler. While living in Texas
, Fermanova allegedly smuggled optic with night vision to her husband in Russia.
with her family from Riga
, Latvia
as Jewish religious refugees in 1994. The family then moved to Baltimore
for a year and eventually settled in Dallas area in 1998. In the US she was naturalized and became a US citizen. In 2004, Anna graduated from Richardson High School
. Currently, she studies at the University of Phoenix and teaches English language to Russian students in Moscow.
The three US-made military goggles cost $4,000, $4,000 and $7,000, respectively. The $7,000 goggles are described as a Raptor 4X Night Vision Weapons Sight, considered a 3G night vision device that allows one to locate the target in low light, and are engineered to be attached to a rifle. Fermanova is currently out of prison on a $50,000 bail but was placed on a 24-hour home arrest. She is expected to leave her home in Plano, Texas
for Brooklyn in July to face official charges in court. If convicted, Fermanova could face up to 10 years in prison.
Fermanova pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act after customs officials on March 1 found three scopes stuffed in a pair of Ugg boogs inside her luggage at JFK International Airport in New York. A 25-year-old Plano woman who pleaded guilty this year to attempting to smuggle night-vision scopes to Russia was sentenced to four months in federal prison by a New York judge Monday.
affiliated television news station KDAF
in Dallas.
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television personality and alleged smuggler. While living in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Fermanova allegedly smuggled optic with night vision to her husband in Russia.
Biography
Fermanova who is now 24 years old, moved to Greensboro, NCGreensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
with her family from Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
as Jewish religious refugees in 1994. The family then moved to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
for a year and eventually settled in Dallas area in 1998. In the US she was naturalized and became a US citizen. In 2004, Anna graduated from Richardson High School
Richardson High School
Richardson High School is a High school in Richardson, Texas, United States with a 2006 enrollment of approximately 2500 and a student/teacher ratio of 12.8.-Background:...
. Currently, she studies at the University of Phoenix and teaches English language to Russian students in Moscow.
Arrest and charges
On March 1, 2010, Fermanova was travelling from New York to Moscow but was stopped by the Customs and Border Protection because her luggage contained high tech vision goggles, allowed to be exported from the United States only with preapproval of the Department of State because they are considered weapons. The equipment was confiscated, by the Customs but she was allowed to continue her trip to Russia. While returning to US on July 15, 2010, Fermanova was apprehended by FBI at the JFK airport and charged with having "knowingly and intentionally" attempted to export "from the United States to Russia defense articles on the United States Munitions list". Fermanova denied all charges and called them "false allegations" although she admitted removing identifying markers from the scopes and blacking out serial numbers with a marker. According to the family lawyer, the goggles were intended for sale by her husband (who is a Russian citizen) to hunters.The three US-made military goggles cost $4,000, $4,000 and $7,000, respectively. The $7,000 goggles are described as a Raptor 4X Night Vision Weapons Sight, considered a 3G night vision device that allows one to locate the target in low light, and are engineered to be attached to a rifle. Fermanova is currently out of prison on a $50,000 bail but was placed on a 24-hour home arrest. She is expected to leave her home in Plano, Texas
Plano, Texas
Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located mostly within Collin County. The city's population was 259,841 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas and the 71st most populous city in the United States. Plano is located within the metropolitan area commonly referred to as...
for Brooklyn in July to face official charges in court. If convicted, Fermanova could face up to 10 years in prison.
Fermanova pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act after customs officials on March 1 found three scopes stuffed in a pair of Ugg boogs inside her luggage at JFK International Airport in New York. A 25-year-old Plano woman who pleaded guilty this year to attempting to smuggle night-vision scopes to Russia was sentenced to four months in federal prison by a New York judge Monday.
Television career
In September, 2010, Fermanova began work as a television commentator on the The CWThe CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
affiliated television news station KDAF
KDAF
KDAF, virtual channel 33 , is a CW-affiliated television station serving the Dallas-Fort Worth television market area. The station is licensed to Dallas and owned by the Tribune Company with its studios located off the John W. Carpenter Freeway in northwest Dallas. The station's transmitter is...
in Dallas.
See also
- Illegals ProgramIllegals ProgramThe Illegals Program, as it was called by the United States Department of Justice, was a network of Russian sleeper agents under non-official cover whose investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation culminated in the arrest of ten agents and a prisoner swap between Russia and the United...
- Anna ChapmanAnna ChapmanAnna Vasil’yevna Chapman is a Russian national, who was living in New York, United States when she was arrested along with nine others on 27 June 2010, on suspicion of working for the Illegals Program spy ring under the Russian Federation's external intelligence agency, the SVR...
- Russian influence operations in the United StatesRussian influence operations in the United StatesRussian influence operations in the United States have existed since 1992.According to American counterintelligence, in 2007 Russian espionage reached Cold War levels.-Doctrine:...
- Russia – United States relations
- Rudolf Abel, Gary PowersGary PowersFrancis Gary Powers was an American pilot whose Central Intelligence Agency U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission over Soviet Union airspace, causing the 1960 U-2 incident.- Early life :...
and Frederic PryorFrederic PryorFrederic L. Pryor is a Senior Research Scholar of Economics at Swarthmore College. He is best known for his subsidiary role in a Cold War spy swap.-Cold War incident:In August, 1961, Pryor was arrested and held without charge by the East German police...
(swapped 1962)