In 2010, Mascheroni was indicted on suspicion of selling classified information. According to the United States, Mascheroni allegedly told a man whom he believed to be from the Venezuelan embassy that he could help Venezuela develop a nuclear bomb within ten years using a secret underground nuclear reactor. The man turned out to be an undercover FBI agent, and Mascheroni was subsequently arrested. Mascheroni allegedly charged the phony Venezuelan agent $793,000 for the 132-page document, which he titled A Deterrence Program for Venezuela. Mascheroni was also reportedly interested in obtaining Venezuelan citizenship. He denied the accusations, claiming that he was merely "driven by science". Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, who has denied being interested in developing nuclear weapons, has been critical of the United States' conduct in the Mascheroni case, "suggesting the FBI deliberately created a disinformation campaign."
