72-year-old Roland Maw, who was at one time Governor Bill Walker’s nominee to the Alaska Board of Fisheries, was reported to have been originally charged with 17 counts that include theft and unsworn falsifications regarding six years of Permanent Fund distributions and Commercial Fishing applications, it was revealed in Juneau on Wednesday.

Maw, a resident of Kasilof, and the former head of the United Cook Inlet Drift Association, illegally collected as much as $7,422 from PFDs that prosecutors allege he did not merit between the years 2009 to 2014. According to charges filed in Juneau District Court, Maw failed to disclose his absences from the state that exceeded the allowable 90 days. He was also found to have purchased resident hunting and fishing licenses in Montana during that time, which bars him from filing for a PFD.

Maw was also charged with claiming residency on his commercial fishing permits between 2008 and 2014 prosecutors claim. Wildlife Troopers in Alaska were informed by Montana officials that Maw had obtained approximately 50 resident hunting/fishing licenses along with permits and tags for seven years in question. 

The former UCIDA head had been nominated by Governor Walker last year, but amid scrutiny after the state of Montana opened a case against him in that state, Maw withdrew his name from consideration for the post. At that time, Maw gave no reason for withdrawing his name. The state of Montana ultimately fined Maw $7,245 after reaching a plea agreement with him in court. He was also banned from hunting, fishing and trapping in that state for a period of 18 months.

Online court records show that Maw has been charged with three counts of Unsworn Falsification I and two counts of Theft II, all five counts are felonies. His arraignment is scheduled for February 2nd.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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