Correction: An earlier version of this article erroneously stated that obtaining resident licenses in another state makes a person eligible for PFD payments. It makes a person ineligible, not eligible. The Empire regrets this error.
For the third time in two years, Roland Maw has been indicted on 12 felony charges for alleged Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend fraud.
Maw, 74, was appointed by Gov. Bill Walker to the Alaska Board of Fisheries in Jan. 2015. His name was withdrawn just a month later when Alaska Wildlife Troopers received a report from the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks that Maw had purchased resident sport hunting and fishing licenses in Montana.
According to charging documents, Troopers Investigator Eric Hinton found that Maw had obtained Alaska resident sport hunting and fishing licenses, tags and permits at various times between 1996 and 2003. Hinton found that Maw had claimed Alaska residency on five forms from 2008-2014, according to charging documents, and found that Maw had obtained about 50 sport licenses for Montana residents during the same timeframe.
Obtaining a resident license in another state would have made him ineligible for PFD payments, according to charging documents, but Maw continued to collect payments. Charging documents also show that Maw was absent from the state between 109 and 180 days every year from 2008-2014.
On Jan. 13, 2016, Maw was indicted on six felony counts each of first-degree unsworn falsification and second-degree theft. He was also indicted on five misdemeanor charges of second-degree unsworn falsification. On the previous two indictments, judges have ruled that there was not enough evidence to proceed with the case.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
