# Rick Brinkley > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rick_Brinkley > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rick_Brinkley.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Brinkley > Source revision: 1353703652 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Rick Brinkley** (born July 25, 1961), is a minister and former [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) politician from [Oklahoma](/source/Oklahoma). He was a member of the [Oklahoma Senate](/source/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 Rick Brinkley attended [Langston University](/source/Langston_University), [Oral Roberts University](/source/Oral_Roberts_University) School of Theology, and the [Oklahoma State University](/source/Oklahoma_State_University) School of Education.[1] ## Career He was pastor of the Collinsville Community Church for ten years, and spent ten years working in [television](/source/Television). He was President/CEO of Eastern Oklahoma's [Better Business Bureau](/source/Better_Business_Bureau) from 1999 to 2011, and then its Chief Operating Officer. Brinkley was fired from Eastern Oklahoma's BBB in April 2015.[2][3] ### Politics Brinkley entered politics in 2010 by winning Oklahoma's Senate District 34 to serve in the [Oklahoma State Senate](/source/Oklahoma_State_Senate). He served as 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.[1] He voted in favor of repealing the state's [income tax](/source/Income_tax). He voted to define life as beginning at conception, and to require that physicians inform [abortion](/source/Abortion) patients of fetal heartbeat, but he failed to vote on a bill to impose restrictions on abortions.[4] Brinkley introduced a ["birther" bill](/source/Birther_movement) that would require all candidates to prove their eligibility.[5] Brinkley was expected to succeed Sen. [Brian Bingman](/source/Brian_Bingman) as Oklahoma State Senate President Pro Tempore.[6] ### Resignation and fraud conviction In August 2015, Brinkley resigned his seat effective December 31, 2015, citing personal reasons. The resignation came while he was under investigation by the [Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation](/source/Oklahoma_State_Bureau_of_Investigation) on accusations of embezzlement from the Tulsa [Better Business Bureau](/source/Better_Business_Bureau) where he had served as Chief Operating Officer.[7] The BBB sued, 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."[8] Upon resigning,[9] Brinkley entered a [plea agreement](/source/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](/source/Wire_fraud) and one count of filing a false [income tax return](/source/Tax_return_(United_States)).[6] The embezzlement was related to Brinkley's [gambling addiction](/source/Gambling_addiction).[10] In March 2016, Brinkley was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison. He was ordered to pay $1,829,033 in restitution to the BBB and $165,000 to the IRS.[10][11] ## References 1. ["Rick Brinkley"](http://www.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/124999/rick-brinkley). Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 6 April 2012. 1. Writer, RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff. ["Better Business Bureau claims state Sen. Rick Brinkley stole more than $1 million over 15 years"](https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/better-business-bureau-claims-state-sen-rick-brinkley-stole-more-than-1-million-over-15/article_6f5c7446-1570-567f-a4ac-8fe4b11cc5b4.html). *Tulsa World* 1. ["Senator Rick Brinkley - District 34"](http://www.oksenate.gov/Senators/biographies/brinkley_bio.html). Retrieved 6 April 2012. 1. ["Rick Brinkley Key Votes"](http://www.votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/124999/rick-brinkley). Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 6 April 2012. 1. Kirk Johnson, [Evidence Aside, State Lawmakers Debate 'Birther' Bills](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/22/us/politics/22birthers.html), *New York Times* (April 21, 2011). 1. ["U.S. Attorney: State Sen. Rick Brinkley pleads guilty to fraud in $1.8 million scheme"](http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/u-s-attorney-state-sen-rick-brinkley-agrees-to-plead/article_8b5223cd-cd5e-5bcc-9095-40cf577e0df5.html). Tulsa World. Retrieved 20 July 2015. 1. ["State Senator Rick Brinkley To Resign At End Of Year"](http://www.ktul.com/story/29738371/state-senator-rick-brinkley-to-resign-at-end-of-year). KTUL-TV. Retrieved 11 July 2015. 1. ["Embezzlement allegations tarnish stellar reputation of state Sen. Rick Brinkley"](http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/capitol_report/embezzlement-allegations-tarnish-stellar-reputation-of-state-sen-rick-brinkley/article_a5084fd7-5326-5972-82b5-fd5b1eb8c0ac.html). Tulsa World. Retrieved 11 July 2015. 1. ["Senator tenders resignation amid embezzlement accusations"](http://newsok.com/article/5438838). The Oklahoman. Retrieved 20 July 2015. 1. Randy Krehbiel, [Former state Sen. Rick Brinkley sentenced to 37 months in fraud case](http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/former-state-sen-rick-brinkley-sentenced-to-months-in-fraud/article_1183127c-5469-5317-abe3-7d9479a1d545.html), *Tulsa World* (March 12, 2016). 1. Nolan Clay, [Former Oklahoma state senator sentenced to 37 months in federal prison](http://newsok.com/article/5484331), *The Oklahoman* (March 12, 2016). --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rick Brinkley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Brinkley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Brinkley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.