Anna Fermanova

Anna Fermanova (Анна Ферманова) is a Latvian born US citizen, who while living in Texas, United States allegedly spied for Russian government by smuggling military equipment to Russia.

Biography
Fermanova who is now 24 years old, moved to the United States with her family from Latvia when she was a young girl. In US, she was later naturalized US citizen. She is reportedly a graduate of Ogle School of Hair, Skin and Nails and holds a cosmetologist license in Texas. Fermanova works in Moscow teaching English to Russian students.

Arrest and charges
Fermanova was apprehended by FBI at the JFK airport while she was returning from her trip to Russia. She was charged with "knowingly and intentionally" attempting to export "from the United States to Russia defense articles on the United States Munitions list". She tried to board a plane from New York to Moscow on March 1, 2010 but was stopped by Customs and Border Protection and her luggage was seized. The state-of-the-art high tech vision goggles Fermanova attempted to transport to Russia are not allowed for export without preapproval from the [{Department of State]] because they are considered weapons. Although the equipment was confiscated, she was allowed to continue with her trip to Russia. 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 to hunters. The three US made military goggles cost $4,000, $4,000 and $7,000. One of the devices is Raptor 4X Night Vision Weapons Sight which is considered a 3G night vision devise which allows to locate the target in low light and is engineered to be attached to a riffle. 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 soon to face official charges in court. If convicted, Fermanova could face up to 10 years in prison.

Media
She became the next ethnic Russia to get into the spotlight after the 2010 Russian spy scandal with similar arrests of another Russian woman Anna Chapman and other 10 individuals on June 27, 2010 who were accused of spying for Russian government. There is currently no evidence confirming Anna Chapman and Fermanova interacted. She was immediately compared to Anna Chapman by media due to her uncensored photo and flirty comments posts in her facebook profile.