On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, NonDoc reported that Oklahoma County District Court Judge Susan Stallings recused herself from the criminal case involving Ben Harris and David Chaney, co-owners of Epic Youth Services. The recusal follows the revelation that Joe White, Harris’s defense attorney, has taken on the role of campaign committee chairman for Warren Plunk, who is seeking to unseat Stallings in the 2026 election cycle. Harris and Chaney are accused of orchestrating what is alleged to be the largest embezzlement scheme in Oklahoma state history.
The recusal occurred the same day that Irvin Box, the attorney representing co-defendant Josh Brock, withdrew a motion for Chaney’s attorney, Gary Wood, to recuse himself. Brock, the former CFO of Epic, has agreed to testify for the prosecution in exchange for leniency regarding his charges. The motion for Wood’s recusal was initially filed in May 2023, prior to White and Wood being able to cross-examine Brock, a necessary step to conclude the case’s preliminary hearing, which began in March 2023. The combination of this motion and other procedural complications resulted in a nearly two-year delay in the hearing.
Box expressed his desire to expedite the proceedings, stating that allowing the initial recusal motion to proceed through the appellate court could have added another year to year-and-a-half to the timeline. He indicated that ongoing negotiations with the Attorney General’s office have placed them in a favorable position, and they are eager to move forward with the criminal proceedings, complete the preliminary hearing, and resolve the matter for their client.
Prior to her recusal, Judge Stallings had scheduled February 25, 26, and 27 for the resumption of the long-delayed preliminary hearing. Box described the hearing as chaotic, remarking that he had never witnessed a case remain in the preliminary hearing phase for such an extended period. While acknowledging his experience with lengthy preliminary hearings, he emphasized the unprecedented nature of the delays in this particular case, especially considering the hearing had already commenced.
White’s request for Stallings to step down from the case dates back over a year. Initially, White cited Stallings’s previous employment in the office of former District Attorney David Prater, who filed the racketeering and conspiracy charges in June 2022, as the basis for his objection. However, he later stated that his decision to become Plunk’s campaign chairman was motivated by Stallings’s actions in the ongoing attempt to re-prosecute Richard Glossip.
When questioned about the potential conflict of interest arising from his role as campaign chairman for a candidate opposing a judge presiding over his client’s case, White dismissed the notion. He asserted that his involvement in the Epic case was unrelated to his support for Plunk’s judicial campaign. White emphasized his background as a criminal defense lawyer and cited the Glossip case as a catalyst for his desire to support a challenger to Stallings, whose rulings in that case he strongly disagreed with.
White declined to disclose the details of his private conversations with Stallings that led to her recusal, citing the confidentiality of in camera discussions. The Oklahoma Ethics Commission executive director, Lee Anne Bruce Boone, stated that Plunk has not yet registered a campaign committee with the agency for any office. White also raised concerns about “speedy trial issues” for his client, emphasizing that the delays were not attributable to his defense team.
Special Judge Jason Glidewell is now expected to oversee the remainder of the preliminary hearing when it reconvenes in February. District Court Judge Richard Ogden, the presiding judge for Oklahoma County, will assign a trial judge if the case against Harris and Chaney proceeds further. While there was speculation among courtroom observers, including White and Box, that District Judge Lydia Green might be assigned to the case, online records did not confirm this.
The Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office is prosecuting the case. Shauna Peters, a spokesperson for Drummond, issued a statement expressing satisfaction that the criminal prosecution is back on track and anticipating the conclusion of the preliminary hearing by the end of February.
Source: NonDoc
