The Oklahoma Ethics Commission is suing Rep. Ajay Pittman, D-Oklahoma City, for alleged campaign finance fraud. The lawsuit was filed in the Oklahoma County District Court on Thursday.
Ethics commission officials say Pittman’s campaign finance troubles started in 2020, when she improperly reported how $30,000 from her campaign's account was spent. It happened again with $20,000 in 2022.
She is also accused of using nearly $18,000 in campaign funds for ATM withdrawals and personal credit card payments.
Pittman said the receipts showing how the money was spent were lost when her campaign office suffered water damage, offering a letter from her building manager as proof.
“Unfortunately, the building suffered from continuous water intrusion over a span of 3 years + due to having a flat roof with seams that would not seal and because of this a major portion of the building suffered from various stages of mold and permanent water saturations which could not be reversed, identified as such in late 2019,” the letter reads.
After some negotiating, an agreement was reached allowing Pittman to reimburse her campaign with $12,000.
Pittman made her first payments totaling $7,500 this summer. In August, the ethics commission learned the letter about water damage was fake, according to the petition.
“While investigating other matters in this case, on August 12, 2025, Plaintiff learned that the letter submitted by Defendant was not prepared by a building manager, but instead was prepared by Defendant's mother on May 6, 2024, at 5:09 pm, two minutes before it was submitted.”
Further investigation by the commission reveals that Pittman’s first reimbursements as part of the arranged plan may have been fraudulent.
“Attached to the June 12, 2025, email, Defendant submitted several documents, including what appears to be two Cashier's Checks issued by Sovereign Bank; the first… for $5,000, Check … the other for $2,500,” the petition says. “Along with her January 2025 Committee bank statement, as proof of payment.”
But according to Sovereign Bank, no records of such checks exist. And that the $2,500 we’re actually drawn from the very account she was meant to reimburse.
Pittman has allegedly violated at least four different Oklahoma Ethics Commission rules around campaign finance reporting and spending, according to court filings. The charges brought by the commission are civil in nature; any criminal charges are to be brought by the State Attorney General’s office.
And while Pittman is innocent until proven guilty in court, she has already suffered reprimand from fellow lawmakers.
House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson and Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, both also Democrats from Oklahoma City, condemned Pittman’s actions in press releases.
“I fully condemn these actions if proven,” Kirt said. “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.”
Munson said no one is above the law, even if they’re elected and regardless of party.
“As this investigation continues, I encourage Rep. Pittman to cooperate with law enforcement,” she said.
Meanwhile, Republican House Speaker Kyle Hilbert took a more punitive approach as the chamber leader.
“While that investigation remains ongoing, the recent findings from the Ethics Commission make it inappropriate for her to continue serving in a role overseeing State-Tribal relations. Therefore, I have removed Rep. Pittman from the State-Tribal Relations Committee, effective immediately."
