JUNEAU — A former Alaska Board of Fisheries nominee has pleaded not guilty to 17 felony and misdemeanor charges that he fraudulently obtained commercial fishing permits and Alaska Permanent Fund dividend payments.
Roland Maw entered his plea Tuesday in court in Juneau to the 17 counts covering theft and unsworn falsification. Maw was charged on Jan. 13 with illegally collecting more than $7,400 in dividends between 2009 and 2014.
His lawyer, Nicholas Polasky, said his client declined to comment after the hearing.
Gov. Bill Walker appointed Maw, a Cook Inlet commercial fisherman, to the fisheries board in January 2015.
He withdrew his name from consideration suddenly last February and faced criminal charges that he had illegally obtained resident hunting and fishing licenses in Montana.
He pleaded no contest to the charges, paid more than $7,200 in fines and lost his privileges to hunt and fish in Montana and all of the Wildlife Violator Compact States, including Alaska.