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From 2019: Former C.I.A. Officer Sentenced to 20 Years After Passing Secrets to China.
Mallory was deeply in debt, making him an attractive target for Chinese intelligence. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/17/us/politics/cia-spying-china.html
Mallory was deeply in debt, making him an attractive target for Chinese intelligence. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/17/us/politics/cia-spying-china.html
Brian P. Regan had racked up more than $100,000 in credit card debt. In 2001, he was arrested by FBI agents at Dulles International Airport for stealing classified materials from the National Reconnaissance Office. https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/brian-p-regan-espionage
Army Reserve Col. George Trofimoff was deeply in credit card debt and was in danger of defaulting on his mortgage. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2001 for selling documents containing crucial U.S. military plans to the KGB between 1969 and 1994. https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/28/us/retired-colonel-gets-life-term-in-spying-case.html
Saddled with debt, Aldrich Ames first offered to sell the names of undercover CIA agents to the Soviets then gave increasingly sensitive information to the Soviets, receiving $2.5M.
Ames was sentenced to life in prison 1994 for espionage and tax evasion.
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/aldrich-ames
Ames was sentenced to life in prison 1994 for espionage and tax evasion.
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/aldrich-ames
Robert Hanssen and his wife had accumulated at least $275,000 in debt. They needed a way out. As a double agent, Hanssen sold secrets to the Russians and collected an estimated $1.4M. Arrested in 2001, he was sentenced to life without parole. https://timeline.com/there-was-a-russian-spy-in-the-fbi-for-15-years-and-even-he-warned-of-election-tampering-846fac117561
After leaving government, David Barnett was failing in business and deeply in debt. In 1976, faced with debts of > $100,000, he offered to sell classified information to the KGB. Caught in the act of passing secrets, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/10/30/ex-cia-agent-pleads-guilty-to-spying/1672ba39-3687-42de-a80d-51629332034f/
Thomas Patrick Cavanagh, separated from his wife, faced mounting five-figure debt with 30 different creditors. He was arrested after attempting to sell classified documents and blueprints on Stealth aircraft technology. He was sentenced to two life terms in prison.
In his last months at the NSA, Ronald Pelton declared personal bankruptcy with debts of over $65,000. Pelton walked into the Soviet Embassy and offered secrets for money. He received $37,000 over three years. He was convicted and spent 30 years in prison. https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2015/11/24/convicted-spy-ronald-pelton-to-be-freed-from-custody
