The state’s multicounty grand jury on Thursday indicted Brent Swadley over his controversial operation of restaurants at state parks .
Swadley, the owner of Swadley’s Bar-B-Q, is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the state and five counts of presenting fraudulent claims to the state. He is 53.
The grand jury alleged he knowingly presented fraudulent invoices from Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen LLC during a conspiracy that lasted from Oct. 8, 2019, to April 25, 2022.
“We absolutely deny any wrongdoing,” his attorney, Mack Martin, said Thursday. “We will rely on 12 people to make the right decision. Swadley’s stepped up to the plate for Oklahoma when nobody else in the state would.”
Swadley’s developed and operated Foggy Bottom Kitchen cafes at six state parks. The first one opened in 2020 during the pandemic. The last opened in 2022.
“The indictments issued today contain serious charges and will be prosecuted by my office on behalf of the People of Oklahoma,” Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a news release.