ATLANTA (AP) — A metro Atlanta man has been sentenced after prosecutors say he falsely told investigators he was hired by terrorists to build a weapon to use on a passenger airplane.

The U.S. attorney’s office says Henry Guy Jones of Marietta on Monday got two years, 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Prosecutors say Jones contacted authorities in February 2010 and said three people hired him to build a device that would contain a combustible, poison or toxic substance that would be exploded or released on a commercial passenger plane.

They say Jones repeated his story to FBI agents several times but finally admitted the whole story was a lie.

Authorities say Jones’ lies diverted federal resources needed to address real threats of terrorism.

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