ASHEVILLE — The owner of an Asheville-area water services company has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for faking thousands of tests designed to ensure that drinking water is safe.

Linda Allen Knox, 50, was sentenced in federal court Tuesday.

Knox pleaded guilty in 2010 to mail fraud. Prosecutors say the owner of Weaverville-based If It's Water and More billed customers between 2005 and 2010 for water sample collection services that were not performed.

In 1998, Knox paid a fine and did community service after pleading guilty to misconduct by a public official after she was charged with embezzling more than $10,000 from Marshal when she served as town clerk there. The newspaper says Knox also faces conspiracy charges in Madison County.