In this Feb. 10, 2014 file photo Roland Maw walks into a conference room during an Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting. Maw has been charged with falsifying his residency. (Clarion file photo)

In this Feb. 10, 2014 file photo Roland Maw walks into a conference room during an Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting. Maw has been charged with falsifying his residency. (Clarion file photo)

Maw charged with falsifying residency

  • By ELIZABETH EARL and DJ SUMMERS
  • Thursday, January 14, 2016 9:23pm
  • News

Roland Maw, a Kenai Peninsula commercial fishing advocate and the former executive director of the United Cook Inlet Drift Association, was charged on Wednesday with falsifying his Alaska residency.

Maw said he had no comment on the charges.

Maw is facing up to 17 charges. Of those, 12 carry a Class C felony designation, for unsworn falsification and theft with value between $750 to $24,999, related to falsifying records to apply for the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend. A Class C felony is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

The remaining five carry a Class A misdemeanor designation, which is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. He is charged with misdemeanors for unsworn falsification, related to falsifying other forms, according to online court records.

The charges date back to 2008, with the most recent occurring in October 2014. Charges were filed in district court in Juneau.

The Montana Department of Fish and Wildlife opened an investigation into Maw’s residency in February 2015 after he was found to be holding resident licenses in Montana while still drawing the benefits of Alaska residency. The investigation was announced shortly after Maw withdrew his name from consideration for a seat on the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

Maw, who owns property near Dillon, Montana, was charged with seven counts of affirming to a false statement in order to obtain a resident hunting license.

The misdemeanor charges in Montana carried the possibility of fines up to $1,000, two to six months in county jail, and the loss of all hunting and fishing privileges. Alaska is one of several states who participate in a share program regarding these bans, so Maw will also lose his Alaska fishing and hunting privileges.

Maw pleaded no contest to the Montana charges.

According to public records, Maw filed for an Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend check every year between 2002 and 2014. Over that span, the PFD has paid out $16,665.88.

Between 1996 and 2003, he purchased resident class fishing, hunting, or combination licenses from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

In 2003, he qualified for and purchased a Permanent Identification Card, which is issued to Alaska senior residents for free hunting, fishing, and trapping. The card is void if the holder receives any benefits from another state, including resident licenses, voting rights, or tax breaks.Gov. Bill Walker named Maw to the Alaska Board of Fisheries on Jan. 20, replacing former Chairman Karl Johnstone, who resigned when Walker told him he wouldn’t be reappointed following public and gubernatorial scrutiny of the board’s actions at the Fish and Game commissioner nominee selection meeting on Jan. 14.

At that meeting, Johnstone and his fellow board members declined to deem Maw qualified to interview for the job of Alaska Department of Fish and Game commissioner.

Maw unexpectedly withdrew his name from consideration for the Board of Fisheries on Feb. 20 amid scrutiny from the media and Legislature, despite favorable public support and credentials for Walker’s desired scientific fisheries management. The Montana investigation into Maw’s resident permits became public soon after.

More in News

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, a Soldotna Republican who co-chairs the House Education Committee, speaks in favor overriding a veto of Senate Bill 140 during floor debate of a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
By 1 vote, lawmakers sustain Dunleavy veto of education bill

The bipartisan bill included $680 increase to per-student funding

The Sterling Highway crosses the Kenai River near the Russian River Campground on March 15, 2020, near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Russian River Campground closed for construction

The campground is expected to reopen on June 2

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
Fish and Game announces series of closures and restrictions for king salmon fisheries

Cook Inlet king salmon stocks are experiencing a prolonged period of poor productivity, the department said

Montessori materials sit on shelves in a classroom at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Education debate draws state attention to peninsula charter schools

Dunleavy would like to see a shift of authority over charter school approvals from local school districts to the state

The Nikiski Senior Center stands under sunlight in Nikiski, Alaska, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Support available for community caregivers

Nikiski Senior Center hosts relaunched Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program

Flags flank the entrance to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Dunleavy vetoes bipartisan education bill

Senate Bill 140 passed the House by a vote of 38-2 and the Senate by a vote of 18-1 last month

The Alaska State Capitol on Friday, March 1, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
House passes bill altering wording of sex crimes against children

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer

Ben Meyer and Brandon Drzazgowski present to the Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Watershed Forum gives update on streambank restoration

The watershed forum and other organizations are working to repair habitat and mitigate erosion

The entrance to the Kenai Police Department, as seen in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai resident arrested on charges of arson

Kenai Police and Kenai Fire Department responded to a structure fire near Mountain View Elementary

Most Read