Brent Swadley州立公园餐厅诈骗案宣判：获六年缓刑免入狱，须赔偿州政府120万美元
美国俄克拉荷马州Oklahoma City讯：Oklahoma County地区法官Cindy Truong于10月22日对餐饮业者Brent Swadley宣判：六年刑期全部缓刑执行，他无须再入狱服刑，但须向州政府赔偿1,203,143.34美元。陪审团今年5月裁定他一项共谋诈骗州政府罪与五项向州政府提出虚假索赔罪成立，并建议判处十年监禁。（GSM据The Oklahoman与Oklahoma Voice报道）
量刑细目为：共谋罪五年，与其中四项虚假索赔罪的一年刑期同时执行，第五项虚假索赔罪的一年刑期在其后接续，合计六年、全部缓刑。赔偿款须于2028年12月1日前付清；另须缴纳50,000美元罚款与14,400美元羁押费用，并完成160小时社区服务，其中头20小时须于2027年12月1日前完成。Truong法官表示，希望他到Oklahoma City的非营利机构Diversion Hub做社区服务，帮助他人学习烹饪与求职面试。Swadley自5月裁决后一直被羁押，法官计入其已服刑期，他于周四下午获释。
此案源于Swadley旗下Swadley's Foggy Bottom Kitchen在六座州立公园翻修并经营餐厅的合同。俄克拉荷马州旅游与休闲部2022年4月以涉嫌欺诈活动与可疑经营做法为由取消合同，州多县大陪审团2024年对其提起公诉。检方指其虚增发票、并指使一家供应商抬高设备成本，其连锁在合同取消前从州政府取得约1,600万美元。州副审计官Melissa Capps在庭上作证，其团队审查数百张发票、查出300多万美元的加价。检方在量刑阶段要求法官按陪审团建议判十年监禁，并索赔900多万美元赔偿；Swadley一方则要求五年缓刑、不付赔偿，并称州政府还欠其近160万美元。两名同案被告此前已认罪：Curtis Breuklander被判十年缓刑，Timothy Hooper被判五年缓刑。
Truong法官在宣判时表示，她并不为Swadley的行为开脱，但让他在Grady County监狱再多关一天对公众没有好处，并称旅游与休闲部在此案中也有须被追究的失职。州检察长Gentner Drummond在宣判后发表声明，要求Truong辞职，称她此举是邀请诈骗者毫无顾忌地伤害俄克拉荷马州，法官无视多个州机构多年的调查与陪审团的结论，会削弱公众对司法系统的信心。现年56岁的Swadley否认有不当行为，其律师Robert Gifford称量刑恰当、正义已得到伸张，并表示Swadley计划就定罪上诉。Swadley离开法庭时情绪激动，向上指着说：感谢上帝，没有他，这一切不会发生。
Brent Swadley Sentenced in State Parks Restaurant Fraud Case: Six-Year Suspended Term, $1.2 Million in Restitution
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Oklahoma County District Judge Cindy Truong on October 22 sentenced restaurateur Brent Swadley to a six-year suspended sentence in the state parks restaurant fraud case. He will serve no further prison time, but must pay $1,203,143.34 in restitution to the state. A jury in May convicted him of one count of conspiracy to defraud the state and five counts of presenting fraudulent claims to the state, and had recommended a 10-year prison term. (GSM, via The Oklahoman and Oklahoma Voice)
The sentence consists of five years on the conspiracy count, served concurrently with one-year terms on four of the fraudulent-claim counts, followed by a consecutive one-year term on the fifth count, six years in total, all suspended. The restitution is due by December 1, 2028. Swadley must also pay a $50,000 fine and $14,400 in incarceration costs, and complete 160 hours of community service, the first 20 hours by December 1, 2027. Judge Truong said she preferred that he perform the service with Diversion Hub, an Oklahoma City nonprofit, helping people learn to cook and interview for jobs. Swadley, who had been in custody since the May verdict, was credited with time served and was released on Thursday afternoon.
The case grew out of the contract under which Swadley's Foggy Bottom Kitchen renovated and operated restaurants at six state parks. The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department canceled the contract in April 2022 citing suspected fraudulent activity and questionable business practices, and a state multicounty grand jury indicted him in 2024. Prosecutors said he inflated invoices and directed a supplier to inflate equipment costs, and that his chain received about $16 million in state funds before the contract was canceled. State Deputy Auditor Melissa Capps testified that her team reviewed hundreds of invoices and identified more than $3 million in marked-up charges. At sentencing, prosecutors asked the judge to impose the jury's recommended 10-year term and sought more than $9 million in restitution; Swadley's side had asked for five years of probation and no restitution, arguing the state still owed him almost $1.6 million. Two co-defendants had previously pleaded guilty: Curtis Breuklander was sentenced to 10 years of probation and Timothy Hooper to five years of probation.
Judge Truong said she did not excuse Swadley's actions, but that keeping him in the Grady County Jail another day would do the public no good, and that the Tourism and Recreation Department also had failures in the case that need to be held accountable. State Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a statement after the sentencing that Truong should resign, saying she had invited fraudsters to injure Oklahoma with impunity and that a judge who ignores years-long investigations by multiple state agencies and a jury's verdict undermines public confidence in the justice system. Swadley, 56, denies wrongdoing; his attorney Robert Gifford called the sentence appropriate and said justice was done, adding that Swadley plans to appeal his conviction. Leaving the courtroom visibly emotional, Swadley pointed upward and said: Thank you to God. This wouldn't have happened without God.
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图片来源：图：位于Oklahoma City的Oklahoma County法院大楼（资料图），Swadley案10月22日在该院宣判。维基共享资源，CC BY-SA 2.0。Photo: The Oklahoma County Courthouse in Oklahoma City (file photo), where Swadley was sentenced on October 22. Via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
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