Russia sentences American Paul Whelan to 16 years for spying

MOSCOW -- A Moscow court found former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan guilty of spying and sentenced him to 16 years in prison Monday, according to a statement from his family.

Prosecutors had asked for 18 years for Whelan, who says that he is innocent and that he was set up by a Russian Federal Security Service major who owed him 100,000 rubles ($1,400).