He is charged with making false statements to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and “gathering or delivering defense information to aid a foreign government.”

A criminal complaint (PDF) filed by the Department of Justice details the circumstances of Mallory’s alleged actions. Mallory allegedly provided several classified government documents to a Chinese contact, who initially claimed affiliation with a prestigious Shanghai think tank, in exchange for cash. After graduating from Brigham Young University in 1981, he served as active duty military and then an Army reservist for several years. The complaint is highly suggestive of the fact that Mallory may have worked within the U.S. intelligence community — perhaps at the Central Intelligence Agency — between 1990 and 2013. The complaint notes that Mallory had been “stationed in locations including Iraq, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, and the greater Washington D.C. area.” Mallory carried a top secret U.S. government security clearance “during much of that time.” Mallory’s clearance had expired after he left government service. According to the affidavit, Mallory told FBI agents in May that he had been contacted in February on a social media site by a recruiter for a Chinese think tank, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. But it also maintains a close working relationship with the Shanghai State Security Bureau, a regional office of the Ministry of State Security, China’s intelligence arm. The FBI’s affidavit describing Mallory’s espionage activity appears to indicate that the former CIA officer tried to cover up his crimes. The FBI affidavit never claims he offered to serve as a double agent, but in approaching an unspecified government agency with a communications device provided to him by the Chinese, Mallory appears to have made an overture to an American intelligence agency. Interestingly, the complaint includes Mallory’s own account of how he was recruited by a Chinese agent and given instructions to use a burner cell phone (a “communication device”). When he toggled over to the secure mode, he was surprised to find that it displayed a history of his secure messages. Unless read in detail, it appeared like a simple note.”

Two days later, Mallory discussed his motives with his handler: “Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid.” His handler replied: “My current object is to make sure your security and try to reimburse you.”

The FBI analysis also discovered four documents on the phone, three of which are described in court documents as government materials. A former CIA officer sold top secret and other classified documents to Chinese intelligence officials, according to charges filed Thursday in Alexandria federal court. “I find it very hard to believe that he would do something like that,” he said Thursday.
An American who formerly worked for the Central Intelligence Agency is arrested on charges of selling classified information to Chinese operatives in May 2017.