Swadley Smoked! Foggy Bottom Fraudster Guilty On All Counts

Fresh meat is about to be delivered to the Oklahoma prison system!

As you probably noticed on social media yesterday, Brent Swadley – the slow-smokin’ fraudster at the center of the Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Swindle – was found guilty by an Oklahoma County jury on all six felony charges, including one count of conspiracy and five counts of fraud.

Here’s his first walk of shame as a convicted felon:

How’s that for some slow-smoked schadenfreude?

Four years after the scandal was first brought to light, Swadley is actually being held accountable for his crimes! Based on his political leanings, connections, race, and the Christian crosses he places around his restaurants, I never thought it would actually happen!

If Swadley looks a bit quiet, overwhelmed, and extra white in the video above, that’s probably because the jury recommended that he go to prison!

Via The Oklahoman:

A jury convicted Brent Swadley, owner of a string of popular Oklahoma barbecue restaurants, at his fraud trial and chose prison time as his punishment.

The 12 jurors reached their unanimous verdict Thursday, May 28, in a felony case that focused on Swadley's inflated bills for the renovation and operation of restaurants at six state parks.

Jurors found Swadley, 55, guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the state and all five counts of presenting fraudulent claims to the state.

They chose five years in prison and a $25,000 fine as his punishment for the conspiracy. They agreed on one year in prison and a $10,000 fine as punishment on each fraudulent claims count.

Wow. I’m not good at Craig Humphreys’ new math, but I’m pretty sure the jury recommended that he spend 10 years in prison. Yikes! And Brent thought waiting 10 hours for a brisket to finish cooking goes by slow! That’s a lot of time to sit around in a prison cell thinking about all those management and consulting fees he baked into invoices.

Of course, there’s no way Swadley will actually serve 10 years in prison. The judge may choose to make him serve the fraud and conspiracy sentences at the same time, which would turn it into a five-year sentence.

From there, all it takes is a phone call or two from “The Guy,” and boom! – Swadley is looking at 73 days in the slammer and an ankle monitor:

After the reality of the sentence apparently sunk in, the Swadley family issued a defiant statement where they proclaimed their faith in the religion that says “thou shalt not steal,” then tried to brush off the whole thing as one big accounting misunderstanding:

“First and foremost, our faith remains strong, and we trust God will continue guiding us through the difficult road ahead.

While we respect the judicial process, we strongly disagree with today’s verdict and intend to immediately pursue an appeal.

This case centered around invoice and accounting issues — not an intent to steal from or defraud the State of Oklahoma. The work was performed, the products and services existed, and there was never a criminal scheme…

This matter has always involved complex operational and accounting questions that were improperly transformed into criminal allegations. We believe the appellate process will ultimately demonstrate that accounting disagreements and human error should not be equated with criminal intent.”

Yep, that’s right. You know those fraudulent invoices Brent Swadley authorized and sent to the state? Those were just minor accounting issues! Nothing to see here! Move along! Please continue ordering the pulled pork family pack!

Sure, the evidence and testimony were apparently so strong that it only took jurors about 90 minutes to convict him on all six counts, but why believe them, when the guy who puts giant Christian crosses in front of his restaurants says this was all just a big misunderstanding?

Here’s more:

“No matter the outcome, our faith and commitment to our employees and customers remain unchanged. Swadley’s will continue operating and serving customers while pursuing all legal remedies available.

We appreciate the continued support from our employees, customers, and community during this process."

– The Swadley Family

That’s surprising. I figured they’d end the statement by begging Stitt for a pardon! Instead, they wanted to let everyone know Swadley’s is still serving BBQ.

That’s a bold marketing strategy!

“Hey, you know that guy who was just convicted of defrauding Oklahoma taxpayers out of millions through the Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Swindle? Well, be sure to support his chain of mid-tier BBQ restaurants so he can afford to explore even more legal remedies!”

I guess the next question is what happens next – both for Swadley and Swadley’s.

The judge is set to issue a formal sentence in July, and from there, I assume we’ll be on Stitt pardon watch. Will Stitt throw the lifeline most grifters expect from their boss before he leaves office, or will he leave Swadley all swaddled up in a prison cell?

It will also be interesting to see what happens to Swadley’s the business.

With its founder facing prison time and $3.2 million in restitution hanging over him, you have to think this will have some impact on the restaurants. If so, that kind of sucks.

I’ve never been a fan of Swadley’s – I prefer good BBQ like Clark Crew – but you have to feel bad for the employees, family members, and loyal, churchy, tastebud-challenged customers caught in the fallout. They’re victims in this, too. They just wanted a paycheck, a family business, or a safe place to eat mid-tier brisket after church. Now, thanks to Swadley’s greed, they may all get smoked, too.

Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.