Pollard turned over thousands of documents to Yagur (he was able, because of his clearance, to simply check the documents out and take them home with him at night). In return, Pollard received $2,500 each month, as well as other gifts (including a diamond and sapphire engagement ring for his fiance, Anne Henderson).

Many of the secrets Pollard turned over were related to weaponry employed by Israel's enemies, including Iraq. Pollard gathered most of his information by searching Defense Intelligence Agency databases and conducted searches up to three times each week. Often, he provided original documents to his Israeli contacts, allowing them to photocopy them over the weekend, after which they would return them in time for him to return to work on Monday morning.

The range of materials that he provided including satelite photographs, weaponry assessments, and secret internal documents. Over time, Israel requested more and more information, and continued rewarding Pollard handsomely. He was treated to vacations in Europe (including his honeymoon) and was lavished with monetary gifts). At one point , he was presented with an Israeli passport and was told that a Swiss bank account had been opened on his behalf containing $30,000, along with a promise that $30,000 would be added for the next ten years.

Eventually, Pollard excessive research and requests for data alerted officials at NIS, including his supervisor, Jerry Agee. An investigation found that several highly sensitive documents that he requested were not within his workspace, and thus likely had been removed from the building. The FBI was alerted and began observing him.

On November 18, 1985, Pollard was stopped and questioned by the FBI and NIS security officials. In his possession were several top secret documents. He was questioned repeatedly over the course of the next few days and growing desperate, ran to the Israeli embassy for safety. Followed by FBI surveillance teams, the Pollards were confident that they would find sanctuary within the gates of the embassy, but instead were denied. Demanding political asylum, he was ordered by Israeli security to leaves the embassy grounds. The couple was soon thereafter arrested.