A U.S. National Guardsman has been charged with trying to share images of sensitive American military technology with Russia.
Federal prosecutors announced that Canyon Anthony Amarys, 28, of Alamogordo, New Mexico, was arrested Tuesday and accused of photographing a U.S. Army installation at Fort Riley, Kansas, and attempting to send the images to someone he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer.
According to the Justice Department, Amarys also agreed to obtain and send a Garmin GTR-205 helicopter radio for the Russian military. He has been indicted for attempting to violate the Export Control Reform Act and appeared in court Thursday in the District of Kansas.
Authorities allege that in February, Amarys met with an undercover employee (UCE) posing as a Russian intelligence agent at a hotel in Overland Park, Kansas. During that meeting, he reportedly signed a one-page agreement confirming a “covert relationship” with a Russian intelligence service.
Prosecutors say the undercover agent gave Amarys thousands of dollars in cash to buy the helicopter radio and to photograph equipment at Fort Riley. Soon after, Amarys allegedly went to the installation and took photos of what he believed to be sensitive U.S. technology — actions that were recorded and observed by the FBI as part of its undercover operation.
In March, Amarys allegedly purchased the radio, packaged it, and brought it to a USPS facility in Junction City, Kansas, intending to mail it to Romania. Investigators say Romania was meant to serve as a cover destination for the device’s illegal diversion to Russia.
Before sending the package, Amarys confirmed in a recorded conversation that he understood the radio would be diverted to Russia and acknowledged researching export regulations before his February meeting, prosecutors said.
The parcel was intercepted before leaving the United States, and the radio was seized by investigators.
If convicted, Amarys faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
