Attorney General Gentner Drummond called for Oklahoma County Judge Cindy Truong to resign after she gave Brent Swadley a six-year suspended sentence in his fraud case involving state park restaurants. The jury had recommended 10 years in prison.
Swadley was also ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution and $50,000 in fines.
“Judge Truong has invited fraudsters like Brent Swadley to injure Oklahoma with impunity. She should resign,” Drummond said.
Drummond said prosecutors asked the judge to impose the jury’s recommended sentence.
“The State proved our case in court, and we believe the verdict the jury returned was a just sentence,” Drummond said. “We asked that it be imposed, and the judge chose not to follow the jury’s recommendation.”
Swadley was convicted in May on six felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the state and five counts of presenting false or fraudulent claims against the state.
The charges stemmed from his company’s contract with the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department to operate Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen restaurants at six state parks.
According to the attorney general’s office, evidence at trial showed Swadley submitted fraudulent invoices and directed a supplier to inflate equipment costs. His restaurant chain received approximately $16 million in state funds before the contract was canceled in 2022.
Drummond’s office investigated the contract with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. The Multi-County Grand Jury indicted Swadley and two others in February 2024.
Co-defendants Curtis Breuklander and Timothy Hooper pleaded guilty before Swadley’s conviction.
