A Juneau grand jury on Oct. 3 indicted Billy Brown and five members of his family, court records show. Discovery began featuring the Browns in one of its many Alaska-based realities shows in May, portraying the family as a quintessentially Alaskan clan living off the grid.
Brown and family members are accused of �falsely� submitting applications for Permanent Fund dividends, the annual checks awarded to most year-round Alaska residents. Billy Brown alone faces 24 felony counts and is accused of illegally obtaining $13,080 in dividend cash for himself and others.
The charges do not describe why investigators believe the Brown family was not eligible for the dividends that some members received between 2010 and 2013.
A spokesman for the Office of Special Prosecutions could not be reached to ask if and how the family did not meet dividend requirements, including Alaska residency.
�Deep in the Alaskan wilderness lives a newly discovered family who was born and raised wild,� Discovery announced ahead of the May 6 series premiere.
�No comment,� Discovery communications director Sean Martin wrote in an email, when asked for his reaction to the indictment.
Also charged, according to a copy of the indictment, are:
Amora Brown, four counts of unsworn falsification and four counts second-degree theft.
Joshua Brown, four counts of unsworn falsification and four counts second-degree theft.
Solomon Brown, four counts of unsworn falsification and four counts second-degree theft.
Gabriel Brown, four counts of unsworn falsification and four counts of second-degree theft.
Noah Brown, three counts of unsworn falsification and four counts of second-degree theft.
http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/stars...ith-felony-dividend-fraud-theft/29285166
