OKLAHOMA CITY — A former employee testified in court that Brent Swadley directed staff to inflate invoices billed to the state, describing what prosecutors allege was a system designed to pad costs tied to Oklahoma’s troubled state park restaurant contracts.
According to NonDoc, former employee Chris Hill told jurors he was instructed to create what he described as “grandiose” invoices for submission to the Oklahoma Department of Tourism, including markups on equipment and construction costs connected to Foggy Bottom Kitchen operations in state parks.
Hill testified the company maintained separate sets of invoices and that documents submitted to the state reflected higher amounts than original vendor costs, NonDoc reported.
Swadley is charged with felony conspiracy and false-claims violations tied to allegations that his company overbilled the state through contracts to renovate and operate restaurants in Oklahoma state parks. He has denied wrongdoing.
Former co-defendants Curtis Breuklander and Timothy Hooper have pleaded guilty in connection with the case.
KFOR and KOKH reported that additional former employees described a process in which invoices were altered before submission to the state, including instructions to increase totals beyond actual costs.
The case stems from the state’s now-terminated contract with Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen to operate restaurants in Oklahoma state parks, an arrangement that drew scrutiny from lawmakers and auditors over inflated expenses and questionable billing practices.
The trial is ongoing.
