The on-again, off-again trial of a former Board of Fisheries nominee charged with Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend fraud has been postponed to the end of the year.
Former United Cook Inlet Drift Association Executive Director Roland Maw initially was charged in January 2016, but those charges were dismissed in January of this year by Juneau Superior Court Judge Louis Menendez, who ruled the prosecution didn’t properly present hearsay evidence to the grand jury.
Special prosecutor Lisa Kelley then re-filed her case, charging Maw with six felony counts of theft, six felony counts of unsworn falsification, and five misdemeanor charges. The felony charges each correspond to years between 2009 and 2014 when Maw received a PFD, according to the Alaska Journal of Commerce.
That case remains on the court calendar; Maw’s trial was set to begin next week but was rescheduled for Nov. 13 in a hearing in court Monday. A pre-trial conference was set for Nov. 6, and the trial is estimated to last three days.
Gov. Bill Walker appointed Maw to the Alaska Board of Fisheries in January 2015, but his name was withdrawn one month later as his issues in Montana came to light.
In February 2015, Alaska Wildlife Troopers received a report from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks that Maw purchased a resident Montana sport hunting and fishing license.
The Montana Department of Fish and Wildlife reportedly found Maw to be holding resident licenses in Montana while still drawing the benefits of Alaska residency.
Maw reportedly had purchased Alaska resident sport hunting and fishing licenses from 1996 to 2003, then received a permanent identification card for the sport. Maw allegedly claimed Alaskan residency on various documents while having approximately 50 different resident Montana sport licenses at the same time; obtaining a resident hunting and fishing license in another state would have made him ineligible for PFD payments.
From 2008 to 2014, Maw allegedly was absent from Alaska between 109 to 180 days each year. He was still accepting his PFD payments during that time, totalling $7,422, and did not disclose absences that exceeded 90 days as required by state law, according to the initial indictment filed in 2016.
At the beginning of this year, Maw’s indictment was dismissed because Menendez found that evidence was improperly presented to a grand jury. At the time, Maw said the ordeal has not only drained him financially, but left a sour taste in his mouth about his treatment from the state of Alaska, which he said was unfair and has resulted in damage to his reputation.
The state secured a new indictment two weeks later, however.
• Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
