Rural Alaska

Former village utility manager faces federal theft, tax charges

A Naknek woman faces federal charges for allegedly embezzling more than $500,000 from the Naknek Electric Association and lying about it on her tax returns.

Donna Vukich, 60, is charged with theft from a program receiving federal funds and filing a false tax return.

The charges, filed in U.S. District Court on Dec. 7, allege that Vukich “converted without authority” $510,181 from the Naknek Electric Association while working as the general manager at the village utility.

A civil lawsuit filed against Vukich by the utility in 2017 says the former manager spent $970,358 on company credit cards from 2004 to 2016.

The federal criminal charges cover 2011 to 2015.

During that time, Vukich used the card to pay for roughly half a million dollars' worth of expenses, including personal travel for herself and others, college tuition payments for her daughter, cash advances and entertainment, according to the charges.

She failed to include the money on her tax returns for those years, federal prosecutors allege.

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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