ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury in Alexandria has convicted Trent James Russell, a 34-year-old resident of Arlington, on charges of obtaining another person’s healthcare information and destroying evidence during a federal investigation.
According to court records and evidence presented during the trial, Russell was employed by an organ donation coordination entity from 2017 to 2019, granting him access to electronic medical records. In January 2019, Russell remotely accessed and took a screenshot of a federal official’s protected health information.
After his access was disabled on February 10, 2019, Russell reformatted his computer two days later, attempting to destroy evidence and obstruct the investigation. When FBI agents interviewed him on February 21, 2019, he falsely claimed that his cellphone had been stolen.
Russell faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison at his sentencing on November 7. However, actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. The federal district court judge will determine the final sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.