| A Mineral Wells father and son have been sentenced to prison for defrauding nearly $9 million from the federal government.
Seventy-year-old Eddie Burl Smith and 47-year-old Edward Michael Smith were sentenced in federal court in Charleston.
The elder Smith was sentenced to 57 months in prison and fined $50,000, while his son received a two-year prison term and a $25,000 fine. Both face supervised release after serving their time.
According to the government, the Smiths charged nearly $9 million in personal spending as business expenses to the former Carl Smith Pipeline Company in Jackson County.
During sentencing, U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver said the father and son "brought to ruin a company that represented an economic engine in this state," a release states.
Carl Smith Pipeline went into bankruptcy in 2003.
Court records say the Smith's lived an extravagant life-style, spending sums on racing cars and show horses.
During sentencing this week, Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. said the two committed "one fraud after another."
| 
