Attorney General John O’Connor filed Embezzlement charges in McIntosh County against an Oklahoma husband and wife duo accused of defrauding Oklahomans of thousands of dollars for construction projects they never completed.

Victor and Julie Dowling are each charged with 14 counts of Embezzlement and one count of Pattern of Criminal Offenses. If convicted, they each face up to 72 years in prison and over $100,000 in restitution. Additional victims should contact the AG Office immediately.

Many young people are struggling to find a meaningful career as they enter the workforce. Oklahoma has long been a state which has low unemployment rates, but when delving deeper, one will see that underemployment impacts many.

Underemployment describes individuals working multiple low-wage jobs in an effort to cover monthly costs, often with no health insurance benefits. Many adults are impacted by this, where in the past, these jobs were mainly for high school students.

A newly released report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration reveals that Oklahoma’s electricity prices are climbing at the fastest rate in the nation. From June 2021 to June 2022, electricity prices surged from 7.3 cents per kilowatt hour to 10.87 cents per kilowatt hour across all sectors (residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation).

That 49 percent increase is the largest percentage increase experienced by consumers in any state. Among all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the average electricity cost increase across all sectors was just 14 percent.