The Oklahoma Ethics Commission voted unanimously today to authorize executive director Lee Anne Bruce Boone to pursue prosecution of Rep. Ajay Pittman for failing to pay the penalties she agreed to in a 2024 settlement of campaign finance violations.
“She didn’t comply with her settlement agreement,” Bruce Boone said after the meeting adjourned. “If somebody doesn’t comply with their settlement agreement, it’s like a contract. You can go straight to district court. So that’s the plan.”
In May 2024, Pittman (D-OKC) agreed to pay $35,000 in fines and reimbursements after spending nearly $18,000 of donor money on personal purchases. Under the terms of her settlement agreement with the Ethics Commission, Pittman admitted responsibility for making purchases with campaign funds unrelated to campaign expenses or official duties, making improper withdrawals of campaign funds via credit card payments and checking and ATM withdrawals, and inaccurately reporting $30,000 worth of contributions in 2020 and $20,000 worth of contributions in 2022.
At the time of the settlement agreement, Pittman characterized the campaign violations as “a clerical error,” and Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna did not file criminal charges related to the diversion of campaign funds for personal use.
Pittman did not respond to a request for comment Thursday about the Ethics Commission’s vote to authorize a filing against her in district court.
Along with her fine, Pittman agreed in the settlement to amend or file documents in the Ethics Commission’s Guardian System, which tracks campaign finances. Pittman later asked for an extension to get her filing done. The settlement agreement allowed Pittman to submit her fine over time, and she committed to:
- Pay $5,000 to the Ethics Commission by May 31, 2024;
- Pay $12,000 to AjayforHouse99 2022 By May 31, 2025;
- Pay $858.22 to AjayforHouse99 2022 by By May 31, 2026;
- Pay $17,141.78 to the state’s General Revenue Fund by May 31, 2026.
Bruce Boone confirmed the commission’s decision to file against Pittman in district court had to do with the payments, and she provided a statement by email elaborating on the circumstances:
According to the terms of her May 2024 settlement agreement with the Commission, Rep. Pittman agreed to reimburse, by certified check, to the campaign funds of AjayforHouse99 2022 (which is now AjayforHouse 2024), in the amount of $12,000.00 and provide proof of such to the Commission. These campaign funds were to be paid from Respondent’s own personal funds and not her campaign account.
Unfortunately, Pittman did not timely comply, and she was asked by the Ethics Commission for proof of this reimbursement on June 3rd. Please see the attached letter documenting this request. As a response, Pittman requested an extension and was allowed until the time of the Commission meeting this morning (June 12, 2025) to provide the documentation. Immediately prior to the Commission meeting, Pittman responded with some documentation, but her response did not include full payment in accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement. Pittman has alleged she was not clear on the amount due, but as you can see from the terms of the settlement agreement the details are specific and without dispute. These were agreed to over one year ago, during which time she was also represented by an attorney.
The commission takes seriously the accountability envisioned by the rules promulgated by the commission and the Legislature (and approved by the Ggvernor), and this money was specifically set apart under the terms of the settlement agreement to ensure that those who donated to Rep. Pittman’s campaign were effectively “reimbursed” as to the original purpose of those campaign donations rather than her personal use of candidate committee funds (as cited in the terms of the settlement agreement) in violation of Campaign Finance Ethics Rule 2.
Guarding System records indicate Pittman made the first $5,000 settlement payment to the Ethics Commission on May 31, 2024. Records also indicate that she contributed $5,000 to her campaign account in August 2024, as well as another $2,500 to her campaign account in the first quarter of this year.
Pittman’s financial issues extend beyond the Ethics Commission settlement agreement, however. In July 2024, American Express National Bank filed a civil case against her for breach of contract. On June 2, Oklahoma County District Court Judge Susan Stallings granted American Express a default judgment against Pittman for $14,504.55, as well as expended costs of $337.14. A default judgment can be granted when the respondent in a lawsuit does not answer the petition. Court records indicate that a summons was left with Pittman’s mother, former Sen. Anastasia Pittman.
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In all, the Ethics Commission spent about two hours in executive session Thursday to review one conflict of interest case, three campaign finance cases and four complaints.
Ethics Commission matters are typically confidential until there is a settlement agreement or a case is headed to court.
For Pittman’s case, the commission voted to allow Bruce Boone to discuss the situation publicly.
Of the other cases and complaints discussed Thursday, the commission voted to submit a settlement agreement for Case No. 2024-11, a conflict of interest case, and to accept a settlement agreement for Case No. 2022-12, a campaign finance case.
As of the publication of this article, Bruce Boone had not released the details of the 2022-12 case settlement agreement.
Read the Ethics Commission’s June 3 letter to Rep. Ajay Pittman
(Correction: This article was updated at 4:54 p.m. Thursday, June 12, to correct reference to an Oklahoma County District Court judge.)
