Jury trial in fraud case against Swadley's Bar-B-Q owner starts Monday – The Oklahoman

Jurors at the fraud trial for the owner of Swadley’s Bar-B-Q may hear testimony that he’s claimed he has already talked with Gov. Kevin Stitt about a pardon.

The trial began Monday, May 18, in Oklahoma County District Court. Both Swadley and the governor deny that they discussed a pardon.

Brent Swadley was indicted in 2024 over his controversial operation of restaurants at state parks during the pandemic. He is accused of using fraudulent invoices to cheat the state out of millions of dollars.

Swadley, 55, denies wrongdoing. He faces one count of conspiracy to defraud the state and five counts of presenting fraudulent claims to…

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PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)

Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.

• Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
• Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
• Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
• Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.