Breach of trust: The espionage activity of Kevin Patrick Mallory

When Kevin Patrick Mallory, a former employee of the CIA, returned from a trip to Shanghai, China in April of this year, Customs and Border Protection officials found approximately $16,500 of undeclared money in his carry-on bag. Mallory initially claimed he had less than $10,000, but this was a untrue.

When Kevin Patrick Mallory, a former employee of the CIA, returned from a trip to Shanghai, China in April of this year, Customs and Border Protection officials found approximately $16,500 of undeclared money in his carry-on bag. Mallory initially claimed he had less than $10,000, but this was a untrue. When asked by customs officials what the purpose of his trip to Shanghai was, Mallory allegedly responded that his trip was part of a father-son vacation, and that he, a graduate of Brigham Young University, planned to meet with a fellow Mormon to consult on a project regarding anti-bullying and family development – as reported by Tad Walch of the Church of the Deseret News. The purpose of his trip, as claimed by Mallory, was also found to be false. And at this point all the red flags went up at the FBI.

Kevin Mallory did volunteer to meet with the FBI on May 24, 2017, where he further tried to mislead his interviewers by stating that he was working on behalf of a Chinese think-tank called the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS). Perhaps Mallory was unaware at the time of his interview, the FBI suspected since 2014 that intelligence agents from the People’s Republic of China had been using the SASS as cover for potential espionage operations. Mallory did eventually admit in the interview that he believed the contacts he’d been dealing with might possibly be Chinese intelligence operatives.

Kevin Mallory allowed federal agents to search a device he was carrying with him during his trip to Shanghai. It is believed that Mallory thought any electronic evidence of his dealings, and any messaging between himself and his contacts had been previously deleted from the device. Unfortunately for Mallory, the FBI discovered incriminating messages, along with three classified documents, and one of which was labeled Top Secret. According to Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington field office who stated in the indictment of Mallory, “He [Mallory] allegedly misled investigators in a voluntary interview about sharing of this classified information.”

By this time, Kevin Mallory was self-employed in a firm he founded called GlobalEx LLC. However Mallory, a veteran and former employee of several government agencies and defense contractors, still kept in contact with former brethren in the intelligence community. As reported by Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post, Mallory “allegedly reached out to several former CIA coworkers asking for help getting in touch with a specific department.” What department and the substance of Mallory’s inquiry is unclear, since the CIA has not commented on either Mallory’s case or the charges filed against him.

What is clear, is that Kevin Patrick Mallory is being charged with the attempted delivery of defense information to aid a foreign government, and if convicted and sentenced to the maximum, he could be possibly facing life in prison. Federal authorities believe Mallory, based on incriminating messages found on his device, discussed the removal of redacted (blacked-out) segments of classified documents for payment. One message to his Chinese contact read, “Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid for it.” To which his suspected Chinese intelligence contact replied, “My current object is to make sure your security (sic) and try to reimburse you.”

Highlighted in the indictment is that Kevin Mallory, who is fluent in Mandarin Chinese from former posts in both Taiwan and China between 1990 and 2012, made at least a few trips to Shanghai between March and April of 2017. He also planned to return in June, possibly to complete the deal, until authorities caught up with him. Initially, Mallory was reported recruited via social media, and then eventually contacted by phone. It is also alleged that Mallory was given a “secure” device and taught, by his contacts, how to use it.

The Kevin Patrick Mallory case sheds light on a growing problem where Chinese intelligence operatives are using “civilian” groups and shrouds of similar propriety to gain access to sensitive information. According to Peter Mattis, a former government analyst and current fellow at the Jamestown Foundation’s China Program who states, “the Chinese regularly use think-tanks as cover for intelligence operations.” Through the guise of these types of organizations, they are able to make contact with former intelligence employees, invite tham to China to give speeches, where they will be subsequently contacted by members of the People’s Republic of China Intelligence Service (PRCIS).