OKLAHOMA CITY — Computers and documents were seized from state Rep. Ajay Pittman’s home and office last week in connection with an ongoing investigation into allegations of forgery and embezzlement.
The Oklahoma Ethics Commission had filed a civil lawsuit against Pittman in Oklahoma County on Oct. 16, accusing Pittman of falsifying documents related to a previous ethics violation.
In 2024, Pittman entered into a settlement with the Ethics Commission, agreeing to make a series of payments totaling $35,000 to reimburse campaign funds spent improperly plus a civil penalty.
According to court filings, Pittman had told the Commission she could not provide documentation of her campaign expenditures because her records had been destroyed by water damage in her office. Pittman submitted a letter appearing to be from her building manager attesting to the water damage.
However, according to state officials, metadata in the document Pittman presented as a letter from her building manager revealed the document actually had been prepared by her mother, former state Senator Anastasia Pittman, two minutes before the document was submitted.
The lawsuit also claims that Pittman submitted a fake cashier’s check to the Commission showing she had made a $2,500 payment toward her settlement; the bank has no record the cashier’s check was issued. Instead, the Commission found that the $2,500 payment “was actually a contribution check made payable to ‘Ajay for House 99 2024.’” The settlement had stipulated that Pittman had to pay the settlement out of her personal funds, not campaign funds.
Search warrants were executed at Pittman’s Midwest City home and her office, in which multiple laptops, iPhones, iPads, flash drives and documents were seized.
Pittman could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
She has been removed from her committee assignments in the Oklahoma House of Representatives effective immediately, said
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow.
“I have taken the minority caucus’ recommendation and have removed Rep. Pittman from all committee assignments, in addition to her previous removal from the State Tribal Relations Committee,” said Hilbert. “These are serious findings from the Ethics Commission, in addition to an ongoing criminal investigation, so I feel this additional step is warranted.”
Senate Democratic Leader Julia Kirt made the following statement regarding the Oklahoma Ethics Commission lawsuit against Rep. Pittman, D-Oklahoma City.
“The allegations against Rep. Ajay Pittman are very serious. I fully condemn these actions if proven. Elected officials, regardless of their political party, should be held to the highest standard. Clear corruption allegations among government officials break the public’s trust in us and in our ability to work for them. I support law enforcement investigations on these serious allegations. We must all do better to hold ourselves accountable and avoid even the appearance of corruption so we can put people over politics,” said Kirt, D-Oklahoma City.
