The U.S. Attorney's Office announced that eight area people had recently been sentenced in the Federal Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

In addition, U.S. Attorney John M. Bales said four people had pleaded guilty in federal court in Tyler Thursday.

Mitchell Glenn Aills, 28, of Upshur County was sentenced for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and sentenced to 70 months in federal prison. According to information presented in court, Aills was arrested in October 2008 after a search warrant was issued after 13 grams of methamphetamine and several firearms were found at his residence. The grand jury returned an indictment in January.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Upshur County Sheriff's Office, and the Texas Department of Public Safety and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Middleton.

Kevin Wade Brown, 39, of Tyler was sentenced to 131 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine. Brown was arrested in February when a large quantity of methamphetamine to be distributed in the Tyler area was found .

To date, this investigation has resulted in the seizure of approximately six pounds of methamphetamine, firearms and more than $30,000 in cash and automobiles. Co-defendant Jose Luis Abarca has been sentenced to 195 months in federal prison and co-defendant Marcus Ondre Mumphrey has been sentenced to 151 months in federal prison. Three additional co-defendants have already pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Baldwin.

Christopher Dewayne Bunn, 33, of Gilmer, Kono Adomin Williams, 29, and Daniel Dorance Davis, 30, both of Fort Worth, were sentenced on drug charges. Williams and Davis were arrested in Kaufman County after being stopped and found to have approximately a quarter of a pound of methamphetamine in their possession. Also, the two were arrested in Smith County on similar charges. Further investigation showed that Williams and Davis were delivering the methamphetamine to Bunn.

Bunn was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison on conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 97 months. Williams was sentenced to 70 months for possession and intent to distribute and Davis was sentenced for 18 months for misprision of a felony, which is having knowledge of a felony and failing to make it known to a judge or law enforcement officials.

This case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety Narcotics Section and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Ann Cozby.

Marina Passow-duban, a native of Guatemala who had been residing in Tyler, was sentenced to six months for possessing and using a false or counterfeit alien registration card as well.

She was arrested along with her brother, Marion Duban, on a controlled delivery of a package containing cocaine imported from Guatemala. Duban has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine and is awaiting sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security – Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Baldwin.

Deborah Elizabeth Rowell, 55, of Tyler was sentenced to 63 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. She also agreed to a forfeiture judgement of $200,000.

According to information presented in court, from April 2008 through April 2009, Ms. Rowell possessed methamphetamine with intentions to distribute it in the Longview area. A federal grand jury returned an indictment on May 6, charging Ms. Rowell with federal drug trafficking crimes.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Smith County Sheriff's Office, the Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office, the Canton Police Department, and the Dallas Police Department Gang Unit. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard L. Moore.

Brenda Bays, 62, of Lindale was given 21 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to mail fraud Thursday.

According to information presented in court, Ms. Bays admitted that while she was employed by HealthFirst TPA, she altered computer records so that she would receive claims payments at her home. Ms. Bays would then forge the claimants' name and deposit the checks into her personal bank account.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Coan.

In addition to the sentencings, several people pleaded guilty Thursday on drug-related charges.

Mark Lindsey Owens, 35, pleaded guilty to possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and faces up to 40 years in federal prison.

According to information presented in court, beginning in June 2008, Owens possessed methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it to others in the Longview area.

A federal grand jury returned a 17-count indictment on Feb. 4 charging him with federal drug trafficking crimes.

This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the East Texas HIDTA Violent Crimes Task Force, the Gregg County CODE Unit, the Gregg County Sheriff's Office, the Longview Police Department, the Gregg County District Attorney's Office, and the Kilgore Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard L. Moore.

Frank Clinton James, 41, of Athens faces up to 40 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to information presented in court, from April 2008 until April 2009, James possessed methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it to others in the Longview, Texas area. A federal grand jury returned a 1-count indictment on May 6, 2009, charging James with federal drug trafficking crimes.

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Smith County Sheriff's Office, the Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office, the Canton Police Department, and the Dallas Police Department Gang Unit. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard L. Moore.

Michel Len Thompson, 30, of Longview faces up to 40 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing with the intent to distribute crack cocaine.

According to information presented in court, in January 2009, Thompson was arrested after he was stopped for traffic violations and a search of his vehicle revealed crack cocaine hidden in the air breather of his vehicle. A federal grand jury returned an indictment on May 5, 2009, charging him with federal drug trafficking crimes.

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Longview Police Department, the Gregg County Sheriff's Office, and the C.O.D.E. Unit. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Middleton.

Tahmeane Elrod, 47, of Tyler pleaded guilty to mortgage related fraud Thursday in the Eastern District of Texas and faces up to five years in federal prison.

According to information presented in court, in September 2007, Ms. Elrod devised a scheme to defraud mortgage financing companies by submitting false documents in order to qualify for mortgages for the purchase of a residential property.

Ms. Elrod falsely inflated levels of earned income and forged signatures on a Request for Verification of Employment form as part of a loan application package. A federal grand jury returned an indictment on May 6, charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Coan.