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Friday, October 23, 2026 • Cloudy and 79. ☁️
🏀 Thunder beat Denver 96-84 to start 2-0, but SGA’s 20-point streak ends.
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OKLAHOMA MEMO
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Poll results:
We received 265 votes on the Thursday poll, “Would you make a special trip to Tulsa to shop at Oklahoma's first IKEA?”
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨 Yes, absolutely! (67)
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ Maybe, just to check it out (65)
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ No, I'll stick to shopping locally (63)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I've never been interested in IKEA (70)
New poll question at the bottom of today’s newsletter. (You can also suggest a poll question by emailing me at [email protected].)
Swadley to serve no prison time, ordered to pay $1.2M for defrauding Oklahoma tourism department
Brent Swadley, left, escorted by one of his attorneys and a police officer, enters a courtroom at the Oklahoma County Courthouse on Oct. 21, 2026, for his sentencing after being convicted for defrauding the state. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice)
By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice
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A restaurant owner convicted of defrauding the state will serve no prison time, but must pay $1.2 million in restitution, an Oklahoma County judge ordered.
Oklahoma County District Judge Cindy Truong on Thursday sentenced Brent Swadley to a suspended six-year sentence after a jury convicted him of inflating invoices related to the operation of Swadley’s Foggy Bottom restaurants at six state parks.
The jury that convicted Swadley in May of one count of conspiracy to defraud the state and five counts of giving fraudulent claims to the state had recommended he serve 10 years in prison and pay $75,000 in fines.
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, which prosecuted the case, had asked the court to impose the jury’s recommended prison sentence and had sought over $9 million in restitution.
But after listening to two days of arguments about the sentencing and restitution, Truong instead opted for the suspended sentences, meaning Swadley will serve no prison time, but his felony convictions will remain on his criminal record. Truong sentenced Swadley, who has denied wrongdoing, to five years for the conspiracy count to be served concurrently with four one-year sentences for fraudulent claim convictions. The fifth and final fraudulent claim conviction received a one-year sentence to be served after the first five years.
Her ruling was met with audible crying from Swadley’s family and supporters who filled the courtroom.
Truong said while she doesn’t excuse Swadley’s actions, it wouldn’t do the public “any good” to have him spend another day in the Grady County Jail.
“I don’t want DOC or the county to be responsible for you anymore,” she said, referring to the Department of Corrections and the county jail where he was most recently held.
Truong said Swadley faced the brunt of the scrutiny in this case, but the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department also had failures that need to be held accountable.
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The Oklahoma Rundown 📰
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Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:
WATCH: Jon Echols, Nick Coffey face off in debate ahead of Oklahoma Attorney General election (News 9)
Piedmont’s Cloverleaf data center plan amendments approved; vote for project approval still to come (Fox 25)
AG: Third Vote on Jewish Charter School Would Be Illegal (Oklahoma Watch)
Oklahoma State Department of Education requests $4.4 billion budget (Oklahoma Voice)
State downgrades 67 school districts as ‘academic proficiency’ enters accreditation matrix (NonDoc)
Oklahoma rolled out a competitive funding formula for higher ed. Who wins, and who loses? (StateImpact Oklahoma)
Inflation hits Oklahoma road, bridge construction (Oklahoma Voice)
Downtown Tulsa juvenile curfew will remain in place another year. How has it been enforced so far? (The Oklahoma Eagle)
Oklahoma man accused of using fake deed to claim $5.4 million home in Gaillardia (KOCO)
Plea docket set for Kay County Commissioner accused of stealing cattle (Kay News Cow)
Broken Arrow City Council OKs airport feasibility study (Broken Arrow Sentinel)
Madill man dies in workplace accident involving semi-trailer (KFOR)
Friday Poll
SGA's incredible streak of scoring at least 20 points ended after nearly two years. What matters more to you?
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