Here’s How the Stars of ‘Alaskan Bush People’ Have Avoided Jail Time Despite Their Run-Ins With the Law
Amid reports Alaskan Bush People matriarch, Ami Brown, is just days away from succumbing to stage-four lung cancer, other questions surrounding the family have now emerged — mainly in regards to the family's legal drama.
In early 2016, Billy and Josh "Bam Bam" Brown were sentenced to 30 days in jail for swindling thousands from the Alaskan government. Yet in a shocking turn of events, the two managed to escape time in the slammer. According to Alaskan Criminal Superior Court records obtained by RadarOnline, the 64-year-old father and his second eldest son, 32, were instead required to wear an ankle monitor for 30 days, report to a probation officer, and provide weekly urine samples. Although more family members were charged, Billy and Bam Bam took a plea deal to protect Ami and the younger siblings.
However, their run-in with the law wasn't the first time the Brown family had committed a crime. In 2014, they were charged with 24 counts of unsworn falsification and theft for lying about living in Alaska in order to receive government checks. According to court docs, the reality stars stole roughly $27,000 from the state government. Plus, they were forced to cough up nearly $22,000 in jugements and fines. Yikes.
The family-of-nine is no stranger to controversy, most recently regarding Rain Brown, 15. The youngest Brown member received backlash online earlier this month for posting a photo of herself in a birthday tribute to her parents.
As previously reported, Rain’s mom was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year, and in a recent interview, the reality TV mama opened up about why she is remaining optimistic even though she only has a three-percent chance of survival. "I realized early into this that it’s very easy to want to give up and just die. And on the pessimist side, it could be my last days," she said. "But I have the will to fight." She added, "Worrying about it only makes it worse. There is hope and that hope is having faith in God. You can’t give up. I tell people be happy. Just be happy. It’s a choice. Things can be hard and you just want to curl up but you have to shine."
Discovery has not yet announced whether or not there will be another season of their reality show.
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