"Kevin Patrick Mallory, 62, of Leesburg, Virginia, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison… after being convicted under the Espionage Act for conspiracy to transmit national defense information to an agent of the People’s Republic of China," the release said on Friday.

READ MORE: US Admiral Urges Australia, Indonesia to Counter Beijing in South China Sea

The former CIA officer was charged with lying to investigators, delivering, attempting to deliver defence documents in order to help foreign governments, the release added. </s> ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A former CIA officer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after a jury convicted him of spying for China.

The sentence issued Friday in federal court in Alexandria for 62-year-old Kevin Mallory of Leesburg, Virginia, is less than the life sentence sought by prosecutors but more than the 10-year term requested by the defense.

A jury convicted Mallory last year under the Espionage Act for providing classified information to Chinese handlers in exchange for $25,000.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys differed sharply on the value of the information provided by Mallory. Defense attorneys argued the information was practically worthless. Prosecutors say Mallory either sent or intended to send material that put human assets at risk.

Mallory’s lawyers say they plan to appeal. </s> Washington: A former spy for the US Central Intelligence Agency has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted on charges of conspiring to transmit defence secrets to China, the US Justice Department said.

Kevin Patrick Mallory, of Leesburg, Virginia, was found guilty by a federal jury in June 2018 of several counts of conspiring to provide national defence information to aid a foreign government and making false statements.

“This case is one in an alarming trend of former US intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues," Assistant Attorney-General John Demers said in a statement.

The Justice Department said that Mallory, 62, held numerous sensitive jobs with government agencies and defence contractors. His career included working as a covert case officer for the CIA and as an intelligence officer for the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). He held a top secret security clearance until he stopped working as a CIA contractor in 2012. He then launched his own consulting business. </s> An ex-CIA officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday for spying for China in a case called part of an “alarming trend” in the US intelligence community.

Kevin Mallory, 62, was convicted under the Espionage Act for selling classified US “defence information” to a Chinese intelligence agent for $25,000 during trips to Shanghai in March and April 2017.

“Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid,” he told the Chinese agent in a 5 May 2017 message.

The fluent Mandarin speaker had served in the US army, then as a special agent for the security service of the state department, before becoming a covert case officer for the CIA.

Mallory is one of several US officials with high-level security clearances arrested and charged over unsanctioned dealings with Chinese intelligence.

The former defence intelligence agency official Ron Hansen faces 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in March to charges of attempting to sell classified information to China.

In April, a former diplomat Candace Marie Claiborne pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about money she received from Chinese intelligence agents in exchange for US documents.

And in the most significant case, on 1 May, the former CIA officer Jerry Chun Shing Lee pleaded guilty to spying for China.

Lee, 54, faces a possible life sentence. Arrested in January 2018, he was suspected of having provided Beijing the information it needed to bring down a CIA network of informants in China between 2010 and 2012.

“This case is one in an alarming trend of former US intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues,” assistant attorney general John Demers said of the Mallory case.

“This sentence, together with the recent guilty pleas of Ron Hansen in Utah and Jerry Lee in Virginia, deliver the stern message that our former intelligence officers have no business partnering with the Chinese, or any other adversarial foreign intelligence service.”

Mallory’s lawyers said they planned to appeal the conviction. </s> A former official of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was on Friday sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for spying for China.

The former official, Kevin Mallory, 62, of Leesburg, Virginia, is an Army veteran who also worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency, and had a top-secret security clearance until he stopped working as a CIA contractor in 2012. He then launched his own consulting business.

Mallory, 62, was found guilty by a federal jury in June 2018 of conspiracy to deliver, attempted delivery, delivery of national defence information to aid a foreign government and making material false statements.

Mallory had previously been accused of sharing classified information with a defence contractor in 2010 while trying to start his consulting business, and his security clearance was revoked.

Mallory is one of three former intelligence officers charged in recent years with helping China. </s> A former spy for the US Central Intelligence Agency was sentenced on Friday to 20 years in prison after being convicted on charges of conspiring to transmit US defence secrets to China, the Justice Department said.

Kevin Patrick Mallory, of Leesburg, Virginia, was found guilty by a federal jury in June 2018 of several counts of conspiring to provide national defence information to aid a foreign government and making false statements.

“This case is one in an alarming trend of former US intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues," Assistant Attorney General John Demers said in a statement.

The Justice Department said that Mallory, 62, held numerous sensitive jobs with government agencies and defence contractors. His career included working as a covert case officer for the CIA and as an intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). He held a top secret security clearance.

Evidence at Mallory`s trial included surveillance video from a FedEx store in Leesburg, where Mallory could be seen scanning documents classified "Secret" and "Top Secret" onto a memory card, which

FBI investigators found during a search of Mallory`s home the day he was arrested.

Earlier this month, another former CIA officer, Jerry Chun Shing Lee, pleaded guilty to federal charges of spying for China. Ron Rockwell Hansen, a former DIA officer, pleaded guilty in March to espionage-related charges and receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars while acting as an agent for Beijing. </s> Image copyright ALEXANDRIA SHERIFF'S OFFICE Image caption Kevin Mallory, 62, was convicted under the Espionage Act

A former CIA officer has been jailed for 20 years for disclosing military secrets to a Chinese agent, the US justice department says.

Kevin Mallory, 62, was found guilty of several spying offences following a two-week trial last June.

The fluent Mandarin speaker from Leesburg, Virginia, held top-level security clearance and had access to sensitive documents.

He was convicted of selling secrets to China for $25,000 (£19,600).

Evidence at his trial included a surveillance video which showed him scanning classified documents onto a digital memory card at a post office.

He also travelled to Shanghai to meet with a Chinese agent in March and April 2017, the justice department said.

"Mallory not only put our country at great risk, but he endangered the lives of [people] who put their own safety at risk for our national defence," US attorney Zachary Terwilliger said in a statement.

"This case should send a message to anyone considering violating the public's trust and compromising our national security," he added. "We will remain steadfast and dogged in pursuit of these challenging but critical national security cases."

The Justice Department said Mallory held a number of sensitive jobs with government agencies.

He had worked as a covert case officer for the CIA and as an intelligence officer for the Defense intelligence Agency (DIA).

"This case is one in an alarming trend of former US intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues," Assistant Attorney General John Demers said following the sentencing.

Earlier this month, ex-CIA agent Jerry Chun Shing Lee pleaded guilty to spying for China. Prosecutors said the naturalised US citizen was paid to divulge information on US covert assets.

And last June, former US intelligence officer Ron Rockwell Hansen was also charged with attempting to spy for China.

He attempted to pass on information and received at least $800,000 (£600,000) for acting as a Chinese agent, the justice department said at the time.

CIA spy operation in China: Key dates

Image copyright AFP Image caption Chinese police guard the US embassy in the capital, Beijing </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former spy for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency was sentenced on Friday to 20 years in prison after being convicted on charges of conspiring to transmit U.S. defence secrets to China, the Justice Department said.

Kevin Patrick Mallory, of Leesburg, Virginia, was found guilty by a federal jury in June 2018 of several counts of conspiring to provide national defence information to aid a foreign government and making false statements.

“This case is one in an alarming trend of former U.S. intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues," Assistant Attorney General John Demers said in a statement.

The Justice Department said that Mallory, 62, held numerous sensitive jobs with government agencies and defence contractors. His career included working as a covert case officer for the CIA and as an intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). He held a top secret security clearance.

Evidence at Mallory's trial included surveillance video from a FedEx store in Leesburg, where Mallory could be seen scanning documents classified "Secret" and "Top Secret" onto a memory card, which FBI investigators found during a search of Mallory's home the day he was arrested.

Earlier this month, another former CIA officer, Jerry Chun Shing Lee, pleaded guilty to federal charges of spying for China. Ron Rockwell Hansen, a former DIA officer, pleaded guilty in March to espionage related charges and receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars while acting as an agent for Beijing.

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.

Your guide to the latest election news, analysis, commentary, live updates and schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on firstpost.com/elections. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram or like our Facebook page for updates from all 543 constituencies for the upcoming general elections. </s> A former CIA officer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges that he spied for China and sought to expose agents who were once his responsibility.

A former CIA officer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges that he spied for China and sought to expose agents who were once his responsibility.

The sentence handed to Kevin Mallory, 62, of Leesburg, Virginia, is less than the life term sought by prosecutors but more than the 10 years requested by the defence.

A jury convicted Mallory last year under the Espionage Act for providing classified information to Chinese handlers in exchange for 25,000 dollars (£20,000).

Mallory’s scheme began to unravel when he was selected for secondary screening at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport in April 2017 on a flight back from Shanghai with his son, and customs agents found 16,500 dollars (£13,000) in unreported cash.

Later, in voluntary interviews with authorities, he was caught off guard when a phone given to him by the Chinese displayed text conversations between Mallory and the Chinese recruiter. He had expected the phone’s secure messaging features to keep the conversation hidden.

In one text message, Mallory wrote: “Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid.”

“At its heart, this was a very basic crime,” prosecutor John Gibbs said during the sentencing hearing. “He was desperate for money, and the most valuable thing he had was our nation’s secrets.”

Mr Gibbs said the 25,000 dollars was just the beginning of what would have occurred if he had not been caught.

His sentence was delayed multiple times as US District Judge TS Ellis III, sitting in federal court in Alexandria, sought clarity on a key point — the value of the information provided by Mallory.

In particular, prosecutors and defence lawyers differed sharply on whether he intended to put human assets at risk.

Much of the evidence in the case remains classified and even a portion of Friday’s sentencing hearing was closed to the public, but at the bottom of it, prosecutors believe Mallory either sent or intended to send evidence that would have led to exposure of human assets described in court as “the Johnsons”.

Mr Gibbs said Mallory was the Johnsons’ handler when he worked at the CIA.

Defence lawyers said Mallory never intended to send it and pointed to computer forensic evidence supporting their claim.

Judge Ellis ruled that he could not determine conclusively that Mallory intended to send the information though he suspected the “long-term intentions” were sinister.

“If I had concluded that sources had been compromised … I would impose a far more severe sentence,” Judge Ellis said.

Defence lawyers pointed to the relatively small amount of money Mallory received, and the fact that he voluntarily disclosed his contacts with the Chinese to his former employers at the CIA.

But Judge Ellis said the amount of money was small only because Mallory was caught at an early stage in his relationship with the Chinese.

He said Mallory’s contacts with the CIA suggest an effort to cover his espionage with the Chinese with a veneer of legitimacy by portraying himself as some sort of double agent.

“If you choose to play footsie with another country … you have committed a crime,” Judge Ellis said. “Don’t think that you can be a double agent.”

Mallory’s lawyers said they plan to appeal against the conviction.
A former CIA officer, Kevin Patrick Mallory, is sentenced to 20 years in prison by a federal judge in Virginia for spying for China.