Members of 'Alaskan Bush People' serve time on monitoring

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Two members of the family featured on the reality TV show "Alaskan Bush People" are serving their sentences outside jail cells for lying on applications to get a yearly oil revenue check given to Alaska residents.

Billy Brown and son Joshua Brown were sentenced to 30 days in jail but have been serving their sentences through electronic monitoring, according to the Department of Corrections. That restricts where they are allowed to go.

Sherrie Daigle, a special assistant with the department, says the department has discretion in determining how a sentence is served, based on factors such as risk levels. She says the Browns received no special treatment.

Lawyers for the Browns did not return calls for comment.

The men pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor count of unsworn falsification. To qualify for the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, residents must have lived in the state for the preceding calendar year.