The owner of a Weaverville water services company was sentenced Tuesday to nearly three years in federal prison for faking thousands of tests designed to ensure that drinking water is safe. Linda Allen Knox should have been taking samples from the water systems of her customers for testing for contaminants, but instead gave labs common tap water drawn from other sources, according to testimony. Knox, who owned If It’s Water & More, pleaded guilty in December 2010 to one count of mail fraud. According to court records, she schemed to defraud customers from 2005-10 by billing customers for water sample collection services that were not rendered. The value of those services was estimated at $120,000 to $200,000. Her arrest came after State Bureau of Investigation agents raided her company’s office on North Buncombe School Road in Weaverville and seized records. Representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also took part in the raid. Knox also is currently charged in Madison County with conspiracy to commit felony larceny. Authorities said the charge involves property taken from a home in foreclosure once owned by Knox and her ex-husband, Madison County Magistrate Winifred Ramsey.
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