(MENAFN) A well-known India specialist and consultant to the US State Department has been formally accused of unlawfully keeping over 1,000 pages of secret defense-related information, officials revealed on Tuesday.

Ashley J. Tellis, who serves as a senior fellow and holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was taken into custody following a federal inquiry into the management of classified materials, according to a press release from Lindsey Halligan, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Authorities claim that Tellis breached a law that forbids the unauthorized possession or retention of defense documents.

“The charges as alleged in this case represent a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens,” Halligan emphasized.

Investigators are looking into allegations that Tellis wrongfully removed classified papers from secure premises and engaged in meetings with Chinese officials during the course of their investigation.

If found guilty, Tellis could be sentenced to a maximum of ten years behind bars and fined up to $250,000, according to the official statement.

The Justice Department also disclosed that Tellis, who is of Indian heritage, held an unpaid senior advisory role at the State Department and was additionally a contractor with the Office of Net Assessment at the Department of Defense (recently renamed the Department of War), as reported by a news agency.

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