Drummond refuses to approve sketchy investment contract, warns of suit if Treasurer proceeds
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 6, 2026) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond today told State Treasurer Todd Russ that his office will not draft, review or approve a contract for 311 Capital Management LLC, a politically connected firm close to the governor – and that he will go to court immediately if one is signed anyway. The contract would hand management of state pension and endowment dollars to a firm with no track record and no money under management.
In a letter sent to Russ this morning, Drummond declared the Feb. 17 contract award by the Invest in Oklahoma board to 311 Capital Management invalid as a matter of law and tainted by undisclosed conflicts. The Invest in Oklahoma program allows a portion of Oklahoma's public pension funds and endowment trusts, like teacher and public safety retirements, to be invested into Oklahoma-based private equity, venture capital and business growth funds. Oklahoma law authorizes the State Treasurer, subject to confirmation by the Invest in Oklahoma Board, to hire outside investment advisors and fiduciary managers to assist in selecting such investments. Gov. Kevin Stitt is chair of that board.
When the Board awarded the contract, 311 Capital Management was only five months old, had no investment track record and had no demonstrated capitalization. All of these were basic criteria the State Treasurer would consider in selecting an advisor or manager – none of which 311 Capital Management met.
“You cannot hand over public retirement funds to a company that has never invested a single dollar and has no track record. The Treasurer knew the rules. But the board awarded the contract anyway to a firm that couldn't meet a single one of those rules,” Drummond said.
311 Capital Management’s own regulatory filings indicate it is controlled by, under common control with, and located at the same physical address as Citizen Capital LLC. The State’s own December 2025 supplier-registration record identifies 311 Capital under Citizen Capital’s supplier name, address, and corporate email – meaning Oklahoma’s procurement records treat the two firms as a single unit. Citizen Capital is connected to Stephen Bond Payne, who served as Gov. Stitt’s chief of staff. As chair of the Invest in Oklahoma Board, Gov. Stitt voted to award the contract. At the time of the vote, Stitt's own financial disclosures showed a stake in another Payne-connected entity.
Three days before bids for contract closed, the Treasurer's office issued a document that softened the mandatory qualifications to conveniently fit 311 Capital Management as the sole choice. A lobbyist for Citizen Capital was simultaneously lobbying the Treasurer's office during the active procurement period. That means the same person working to win the contract for one client was also working to influence the office deciding who would get it — an advantage no other bidder had.
“This was not a competitive procurement. It was a process designed to look fair while delivering a predetermined result to a politically connected firm. Gov. Stitt sat on the Board that approved this deal and voted to award state dollars to a firm functionally indistinguishable from one connected to his former chief of staff,” Drummond said. “The retirement savings of teachers, firefighters and state employees are not a slush fund for political favors. These are people who spent their careers serving Oklahoma, trusting that their government would protect what they earned.”
Drummond’s letter demands that the Treasurer rescind the contract award and confirm in writing by May 19. The Treasurer’s office canceled the regularly scheduled May 12 meeting of the Invest in Oklahoma Board after notifying trustees that the Attorney General had not provided a contract. No public funds have been disbursed under the award.
If a contract is executed anyway, Drummond says he will file suit immediately to void it and recover any public funds paid out.
