Rick Brinkley


Rick Brinkley, is a minister and former Republican politician from Oklahoma who was a member of the Oklahoma Senate. He resigned his seat effective August 20, 2015 after he pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the alleged embezzlement of more than $1.8 million from his former employer.

Early life and career

Rick Brinkley attended Langston University, the Oral Roberts University School of Theology, and the Oklahoma State University School of Education. He was pastor of the Collinsville Community Church for ten years, and spent ten years working in television. He was the President/CEO of Eastern Oklahoma's Better Business Bureau from 1999 to 2011, and then its Chief Operating Officer. Brinkley was fired from Eastern Oklahoma's BBB in April 2015.

Political career

Brinkley entered politics when he was elected in 2010 by Oklahoma's Senate District 34 to serve in the Oklahoma Senate. In the Senate, he was the Vice-Chair of the Finance Committee, and a member of the Appropriations, Business and Commerce, and Health and Human Services Committees, as well as the Sub-Committee on Education. As a member of the Senate, he voted in favor of repealing the state's income tax. He voted to define life as beginning at conception, and to require that physicians inform abortion patients of fetal heartbeat, but he failed to vote on a bill to impose restrictions on abortions. Brinkley was expected to succeed Sen. Brian Bingman as the next Oklahoma State Senate President Pro Tempore. Brinkley also introduced a "birther" bill that would require all candidates to prove their eligibility.

Resignation and fraud conviction

Brinkley, in August 2015, initially resigned his seat effective December 31, 2015, citing personal reasons. The resignation came as Brinkley was being investigated by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation on accusations of embezzlement from the Better Business Bureau of Tulsa where he had formerly served as Chief Operating Officer. At the time of his resignation he was being sued by the BBB, with the organization alleging in court filings that Brinkley used the money for "his mortgage, pool cleaner, personal credit card invoices, and to support a hidden gambling habit, in an amount believed to be in excess of $1,800,000."
Upon resigning, Brinkley entered a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in which he admitted to embezzling at least $1.8 million from the BBB and pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud and one count of filing a false income tax return. The embezzlement was related to Brinkley's gambling addiction.
In March 2016, Brinkley was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison. He was also ordered to pay $1,829,033 in restitution to the BBB and $165,000 to the IRS.