For the second time, felony charges of permanent fund dividend fraud filed against a former Board of Fisheries nominee and candidate for Department of Fish and Game commissioner may be dismissed.
The judge in Roland Maw’s case said during a hearing on Monday that he intends to grant a defense motion to dismiss the indictment.
Superior Court Judge Louis Menendez said that could happen Wednesday.
Maw was scheduled to stand trial starting next Monday, March 12.
Maw was facing 12 felony charges of theft and unsworn falsification related to applying for and receiving permanent fund dividends between 2009 and 2014.
It’s unknown what specifically will be dismissed.
Maw also faces five misdemeanor counts of unsworn falsification.
Menendez said a new trial date for those charges will be set later.
In January 2017, Menendez previously dropped the felony charges because prosecutors improperly presented hearsay evidence to the grand jury.
Prosecutors then returned to the grand jury to re-indict Maw.
In the latest round, defense attorney Nicholas Polasky argued there is no evidence that Maw actually completed the online application for the dividend.
Polasky also argued there was insufficient evidence presented to the grand jury about Maw’s alleged ineligibility as an Alaska resident for the dividend.
Maw also was the former executive director of the United Cook Inlet Drift Association.
In 2016, Maw was ordered to pay a $7,200 fine and barred from hunting and fishing in Montana for 18 months after he pleaded no contest to illegally obtaining resident hunting and fishing licenses there.
