A former Southeast Alaskan police officer and an Alaska-based U.S. Coast Guard officer have been indicted for defrauding the state’s Permanent Fund Dividend system.
The Juneau Empire reports (http://bit.ly/1DNeTN8) a grand jury on Friday brought indictments against Valent Maxwell, a former officer for the city of Klawock, and in a separate case, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Geoffrey Michael Barela.
Both men allegedly broke their Alaska residency but still continued to apply for PFD money.
Maxwell faces three felony counts for providing false information on his 2013-2015 applications to the state. Barela faces two counts for the same charge for his paperwork filed in 2011.
Barela and Maxwell are expected to appear in Juneau Superior Court at a later date. It is not clear whether they have attorneys yet.
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Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, http://www.juneauempire.com
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