Two family members of the Discovery Channel's "Alaskan Bush People" reality show have been sentenced to spend 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to fraud charges filed against them. Aside from the month-long jail time, the duo and the rest of the Brown family are also required by the state of Alaska to pay fines.
According to UPI, the family's patriarch Billy Brown and his 31-year-old son Joshua "Bam Bam" Brown will serve 30 years in jail and carry out 40 hours of community service. The elderly Brown, aged 63 years old, must also pay a fine of $10,000 to Alaska. His son is also required to settle a fine of $2,000.
But aside from these, Billy and Joshua must also respectively pay $7,965 and $1,174 to the state. These are part of the penalties enforced by Alaska on the Brown family for lying about their residency status.
The other members of the family, which were introduced by the Discovery Channel in 2014 as survivalists living off of Alaska's natural resources, were also charged in the fraud case. But, these charges were dropped due to a plea deal made by the two defendants, Inquistr reported.
As explained by CNN, the residents of the state receive regular payouts from the revenues earned by oil companies operating in Alaska. However, this financial benefit program, called Permanent Fund, is only available for permanent residents of the state. Qualified residents are only allowed to live outside Alaska for up to 180 days or even longer depending on various reasons such as education, military service or health care needs.
In the case of the Brown family, the members stated in their applications for the program that they are permanent residents. However, it was revealed that they were living outside of Alaska from 2009 to 2012. During these years, the family was able to scam over $20,000 from the state.
After receiving the sentence, Billy Brown apologized in court and said that he lost track of the state's requirements due to his family's travel arrangements. However, he noted that he and his family intend to return to Alaska.
"Because of the way we live our lives and the way we often unconventionally travel, I didn't keep good track of our movements," he said in a statement. "I accept full responsibility for filing for benefits without confirming that we met the requirements."
