By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma City lawmaker is being investigated by the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office for forgery and embezzlement related to use of her campaign funds, according to two unsealed search warrants.
Rep. Ajay Pittman, D-Oklahoma City, is under investigation for using campaign funds to pay for personal purchases including clothing, dining, beverages and two large screen televisions, according to a search warrant affidavit unsealed Tuesday.
She’s also being investigated for forging documents to conceal these actions, including checks and documents related to payments of a settlement agreement with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, according to the search warrants.
Agents with the Attorney General’s Office served a search warrant on Oct. 16 at her Capitol office and at a Midwest City residence where Pittman is believed to have been residing with her mother.
The Oklahoma City address where Pittman’s vehicle and drivers license are registered don’t have active utilities, and her vehicle was not seen at this address, according to the search warrant affidavit.
As a result of the executed search warrants at the Capitol and Midwest City residence, agents recovered items including five laptops, four flash drives, one hard drive, three iPhones, banking and financial documents, two iPads, and U-Haul keys.
Pittman did not immediately return a request for comment. She has not been charged with a crime.
Pittman’s investigation follows a settlement agreement with the state Ethics Commission. In 2024 she agreed to pay the Ethics Commission $35,000 for using campaign funds for personal use and improperly maintaining campaign records in 2020 and 2022, according to the settlement agreement.
Pittman failed to make payments toward the settlement on time, according to a filing in a civil lawsuit the Commission filed against her. And the Ethics Commission alleged she submitted false checks totalling $7,500 as proof of payment, according to the filing. The Commission also suspected her mother had forged a letter from a landlord about flooding at her campaign office destroying records.
An agent from the Attorney General’s Office was first assigned June 26 to investigate Pittman’s 2024 campaign account after the Ethics Commission contacted the office, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The House Democratic Caucus voted to suspend Pittman’s caucus membership and recommended her temporary removal from House committees, pending developments in the investigation. A spokesperson for Minority Leader Cyndi Munson said Wednesday she had no further comment at this time.
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert stripped Pittman of her committee memberships Friday. A spokesperson for Hilbert did not immediately return a request for comment.
