Former US Guard Gets Nine Years in China Spying Case

Tried to sell information about consulate

A former guard at a U.S. consulate compound being built in China was sentenced to nine years in prison after admitting to trying to sell classified photographs and information about the building to the Chinese.

Bryan Underwood, 32, learned of his punishment today in federal court in Washington after pleading guilty in August to attempting to communicate national defense information to China. He planned to sell the information and access to the compound under construction in the southern city of Guangzhou for as much as $5 million, according to the U.S.

"Bryan Underwood betrayed America's trust by attempting to sell access to secure areas of the very U.S. Consulate compound he was charged to protect," Lisa Monaco, head of the Justice Department's national security division, said in an e-mailed statement.