US man jailed for China spying

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WASHINGTON, Jul 12 : Pentagon employee Gregg William Bergersen was sentenced Friday to 57 months in jail for handing secret military documents over to a Chinese government agent, his lawyer said.

The agent, Tai Shen Kuo, is due to be sentenced on August 8, lawyer Mark Cummings told the AFP. The Taiwan-born businessman could face life in prison for using the sensitive data to spy for Beijing, the FBI said in a statement.

Bergersen (51), in March had pleaded guilty of conspiring to hand national defense information over to non-cleared personnel. He had faced a maximum sentence of 10 years.

US District Judge Leonie Brinkema stated the sentence handed down "was sufficient as a deterrent", said Cummings. On his release Bergersen will have an additional three years of supervised probation.

Bergersen was a security and defense weapons systems analyst for the Defence Security Cooperation Agency, which implements the Pentagon's foreign military sales program, and regularly handled classified information regarding US arms sales abroad, including to Taiwan.

"During the course of the conspiracy, Kuo cultivated a friendship with Bergersen bestowing on him gifts, cash payments, dinners and money for gambling during trips in Las Vegas," the Justice Department said in a statement.