A former government employee has been arrested and charged with providing top-secret documents to a Chinese intelligence in exchange for $25,000 and lying to investigators.
Kevin Mallory, could face the death penalty "if certain conditions are met." His top-secret security clearance was terminated in October 2012 when he left government service.
Prosecutors allege Mallory, a U.S. citizen who speaks fluent Mandarin, traveled to Shanghai in March and April and met with a person who said he worked for the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), a Chinese think tank that the FBI said frequently provides cover for Chinese intelligence operatives.
According to the affidavit, Mallory consented to a search of a device he used to communicate with the Chinese operative during an interview with FBI agents on May 24. Investigators allegedly discovered messages on the device from Mallory to the operative in which he described obscuring classification markings on documents transmitted to the operative.
In one message on May 5, Mallory allegedly told the operative "your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid for," according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Mallory consented to a search of a device he used to communicate with the Chinese operative during an interview with FBI agents on May 24. Investigators allegedly discovered messages on the device from Mallory to the operative in which he described obscuring classification markings on documents transmitted to the operative.
In one message on May 5, Mallory allegedly told the operative "your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid for," according to the affidavit.
No comments:
Post a Comment