Broken Arrow Woman Faces Charges for Wire Fraud and Filing a False Tax Return

A Broken Arrow woman was arraigned Wednesday in U.S. District Court for stealing $654,579 from her employer. Brandy Okey, 39, is charged with wire fraud and filing a false tax return.

“The marketplace is dependent, in part, on the ethical, honest and lawful actions of those who work within it. That is especially true for someone in the position of chief financial officer,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “Unfortunately, as in this case, there are those who criminally exploit their positions of trust. The United States Attorney’s Office will continue to aggressively prosecute white collar criminals who thieve, embezzle, and otherwise defraud.”

According to court documents, Okey had access to finances and cash deposits in her position at a company in the Northern District of Oklahoma. Okey allegedly took the company’s cash deposits or a portion of the deposits for her own personal gain from December 2015 to September 2018. As part of her scheme, Okey shredded the original deposit slips or prepared new slips showing a lower deposit amount. On April 27, 2017, Okey is alleged to have transmitted a false report to the company’s board of directors in order to hide her crimes. Okey is further charged with filing a false tax return for the year 2017 when she failed to report approximately the $294,450 in income that she acquired through the scheme.

The FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan M. Roberts is prosecuting the case.