Ajay Pittman: Felony Charges, Guilty Plea, and Resignation

Former Oklahoma state Rep. Ajay Pittman entered a guilty plea on January 28, 2026 to three felony counts tied to a forged $2,500 cashier’s check she submitted to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission to fake compliance with an earlier campaign finance settlement. She took a seven-year deferred sentence, resigned her House District 99 seat the same day, and accepted a 15-year ban from holding public office in Oklahoma.¹²

The Three Felony Charges

Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office filed the charges in Oklahoma County District Court under Case No. CF-2026-452: conspiracy to commit a felony, forgery in the second degree, and violating the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act. Pittman pleaded guilty to all three.¹²

What She Admitted Doing

The charges centered on a fraudulent cashier’s check dated January 27, 2025, that purported to come from Sovereign Bank. Pittman submitted it to the Ethics Commission as proof she was paying down a $35,000 settlement she owed for earlier campaign finance violations. Sovereign Bank told investigators it never issued the check.³

According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Agent Eric VanGurp of the Attorney General’s office, Pittman did not create the document alone. Investigators cited instant messages and emails from June 12, 2025 in which Pittman gave detailed instructions to Trena Byas, a longtime legislative aide, on how to alter a digital image of the check. Byas was told to black out certain transactions while making sure the final balance still matched. Byas reportedly admitted to investigators that she created the altered check at Pittman’s direction.⁴

Investigators found a second fabricated document as well. On May 6, 2024, Pittman had submitted a letter to the Ethics Commission purportedly from a building manager named “D. Hill,” claiming water damage had destroyed her campaign records. Metadata showed the letter had been authored on the computer of Pittman’s mother, former state Sen. Anastasia Pittman, at 5:09 p.m. that day, two minutes before it was filed with the commission.⁵

The Sentence and Plea Terms

Pittman received a seven-year deferred sentence, meaning she avoids incarceration if she complies with the conditions of the deal. Those conditions required her to resign from the Oklahoma House of Representatives immediately and pay full restitution for misused campaign funds to a charitable organization to be agreed upon by both parties.¹

The Ethics Commission Settlement and 15-Year Ban

The day before her guilty plea, on January 27, 2026, Pittman reached a separate civil settlement with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. In that agreement she admitted to converting more than $17,858 in campaign funds for personal use and to failing to account for more than $50,000 in campaign funds. She agreed to pay a remaining civil penalty of more than $17,000 from her prior 2024 settlement and accepted a bar from holding public office in Oklahoma for 15 years.²⁴

The Ethics Commission described the case as “the most serious campaign finance enforcement matters in recent years,” saying it involved “intentional misconduct and deception, not reporting errors or technical mistakes.”²

How the Case Started

The criminal case grew out of a settlement Pittman signed in May 2024. She had admitted using candidate committee funds for personal expenses, making $17,858.52 in checking and ATM withdrawals to cover personal credit card payments. She also admitted inaccurately reporting roughly $30,000 in contributions in 2020 and $20,000 in 2022. Pittman publicly called the discrepancies a “clerical error” and said she had changed campaign staff after the issue was discovered.⁶⁷

That 2024 deal required Pittman to pay $35,000 in total: about $17,848 in reimbursements to her campaign accounts and a $17,141.78 civil penalty to the state’s General Revenue Fund. The payments were to come in three installments, with $5,000 due immediately, $12,000 due by May 31, 2025, and the remainder by May 31, 2026.⁶

She did not keep up. By May 2025 the required reimbursements had not been made, and the forged Sovereign Bank check was submitted to create the appearance of compliance. On October 16, 2025, the Ethics Commission filed a civil lawsuit (Case No. CV-2025-2636) alleging fraud in the inducement, fraudulent misrepresentation, and breach of contract, calling Pittman’s conduct “intentional, malicious, and in reckless disregard of the Commission’s enforcement authority.” The same day, the Attorney General’s office served a search warrant at Pittman’s Capitol office, and investigators searched her Midwest City home, seizing laptops, iPads, iPhones, flash drives, and financial records that included documents from Sovereign Bank.⁸³

Anastasia Pittman was named in the Ethics Commission’s civil filing in connection with the fabricated building manager letter but was not listed as a party to the lawsuit.⁵

The Co-Defendant Aide

Trena Byas was charged with the same three felonies. She had worked as an executive assistant to state Sen. Mary Boren since 2018 and previously served as a legislative assistant to Anastasia Pittman. Byas had also served as secretary for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators through at least November 2025 and resigned from her Senate position effective January 9, 2026. She did not appear in court the day the charges were announced, and as of the most recent reporting her case had not been resolved through a plea or trial.⁴⁹

Resignation and the Seat

Pittman represented House District 99 in northeastern Oklahoma City and was serving her fourth term when she resigned. Her committee assignments had already been stripped in October 2025, after the House Democratic Caucus voted to suspend her and Speaker Kyle Hilbert removed her from her remaining posts.¹⁰²³

The resignation triggered a special election. Five Democrats ran in a June 16, 2026 primary; no one cleared a majority, sending Dr. Herschel Brown and Carlos Robinson to an August 25, 2026 runoff. The Democratic nominee will face Republican Melvin Latham in November 2026.¹¹

1
Oklahoma Attorney General. Pittman Pleads Guilty After Investigation by Drummond’s Office
2
Oklahoma Voice. Oklahoma City Lawmaker Pleads Guilty to Felony Charges, Resigns
3
News9. Oklahoma AG Files Felony Charges Against Former Rep. Ajay Pittman, Legislative Assistant
4
NonDoc. Drummond Charges Rep. Ajay Pittman, Longtime Legislative Aide With Forgery
5
NonDoc. Oklahoma Ethics Commission Sues Ajay Pittman, Claims the Pittmans Committed Fraud
6
NonDoc. Rep. Ajay Pittman Campaign Violations Draw Large Settlement Agreement
7
The Oklahoman. Election Results: Rep. Ajay Pittman Wins OK House District 99 Seat
8
Oklahoma Voice. Ethics Commission Lawsuit Targets Oklahoma City Lawmaker
9
KFOR. Pittman Pleads Guilty to Felony Charges, Resigns From Oklahoma House
10
Oklahoma House of Representatives. Speaker Hilbert Removes Rep. Pittman From Committee Assignments
11
NonDoc. Cheat Sheet: HD 99 Democratic Candidates Race to Replace Ajay Pittman