The Oklahoma Ethics Commission will prosecute state Rep. Ajay Pittman for failure to reimburse penalties owed after agreeing to a settlement agreement for campaign expenditure violations in 2024.
According to Lee Anne Bruce Boone, executive director of the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, the commission will now go to the Oklahoma County District Court for breaching the agreement. But she said there are no set penalties.
“There could be numerous remedies. It could be whether you seek to enforce the original terms of the contract and have the court help you do so. It could be that that settlement agreement might have some kind of punitive damages, or it could be that we go back to square one and have to work on something different in terms of an agreement,” Bruce Boone said. “I’m not sure exactly what those details are going to be yet, but I know the first step is just to file something with district court.”
Pittman, D-Oklahoma City, agreed to repay $35,000 out of her personal finances last May. This reportedly represented full compensation for Pittman’s alleged use of campaign funds for personal expenditures.
According to the agreement, Pittman withdrew nearly $18,000 in campaign funds from ATMs, checking and personal credit card payments. The agreement also alleged she inaccurately reported $30,000 in contributions in 2020 and $20,000 in contributions in 2022.
It included a statement of responsibility, meaning Pittman admitted to the allegations.
Annual deadlines were set for repayment over time, along with supporting documents. Pittman was required to repay $5,000 by May 31, 2024, $12,000 by May 31, 2025 and $858 by May 31, 2026 to her campaign fund. She was also required to pay more than $17,000 to the state’s general fund by May 31, 2026.
Bruce Boone said the payments were intended to reallocate donations to their original purpose.
“Her payments were spread out over three years to give her a little more flexibility,” Bruce Boone said. “This money that she was due to pay was specifically set aside to ensure that people who had actually donated to her campaign were effectively reimbursed because this involved personal use of candidate committee funds.”
Bruce Boone said Pittman failed to pay the full $12,000 by May 31, though the state representative did tell the commission she had paid over half that amount.
The commission granted Pittman an extension until June 12, but she did not provide full payment or documentation, Bruce Boone said.
On Thursday, the commission unanimously voted to authorize Bruce Boone to prosecute Pittman.
“I don’t think the commission relishes going to court by any means. But … we do think it’s really important. These were very serious allegations,” Bruce Boone said. “We take that settlement agreement very seriously and feel like it’s important to hold anyone accountable in that situation.”
Pittman did not immediately respond to KOSU’s request for comment.
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