SAN DIEGO -- Former Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes was sentenced to 12 years in prison Tuesday for plying former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham with bribes in what prosecutors called the biggest corruption scheme of its kind.

Wilkes, 53, was convicted of 13 counts last Nov. 5, including bribery, money laundering and other charges for giving Cunningham $700,000 in cash and gifts so Wilkes could land nearly $90 million in defense contracts.

Prosecutors said Wilkes was behind the biggest congressional bribery scheme in the nation's history and asked the U.S. District Judge Larry Burns to sentence Wilkes to 20 years behind bars.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Halpern called Wilkes "a poster boy for war profiteering."

While saying he didn't believe Wilkes masterminded the scheme to bribe Cunningham, he criticized the defendant for not owning up to what he had done.

Burns chastised the defendant for lying on the witness stand when he told the jury that he never paid for prostitutes for himself and Cunningham in Hawaii.

Wilkes told the judge he was innocent, saying he was a victim of a "wrongful conviction."

After sentencing, Burns denied Wilkes' request to stay out of custody pending appeal.

Defense attorney Mark Geragos said his client had no regrets about his conduct.

"The easiest way to describe it is, Brent believes strongly in his innocence, and he's not going to get up, and from his standpoint lie, and say he did something that he didn't do," Geragos told reporters outside court.

Cunningham was sentenced to 8 years and 4 months in prison.

Wilkes also faced charges in a separate case involving his lifelong friend and former number three man at the CIA, Kyle Dusty Foggo. Prosecutors dropped those charges today but reserved the right to re-indict Wilkes of the same or similar charges in the future.

Foggo's trial has been moved to Virginia.