State Rep. Ayshia “Ajay” Pittman announced her resignation from the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Wednesday, just hours after the Oklahoma Attorney General filed felony charges against her and an executive assistant in the Oklahoma State Senate, Trena Byas.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the constituents of House District 99,” Pittman said. “From the first day I took the oath, my commitment was simple: be effective and do the work, put people first, and make a difference. I am honored to say that my service in the office was effective as a local and national policy collaborator who handled our day-to-day governmental affairs.”
Pittman has been under scrutiny since mid-2025 following a settlement with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission over the alleged misuse of campaign funds.
According to court documents filed Wednesday, prosecutors allege Pittman was involved in a forgery scheme that included creating a fake cashier’s check to deceive the state and transmitting it through a computer network.
Pittman and Byas are each charged with:
- Conspiracy to Commit a Felony
- Second-Degree Forgery
- Violation of the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act
Prosecutors allege Pittman falsified and submitted documents to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission while she was already operating under a settlement agreement related to improper campaign spending.
Court records reveal a series of messages and an email exchange between Pittman and Byas that occurred on the same day Pittman allegedly submitted the fraudulent documentation to the Ethics Commission.
According to the filing, Byas — an Executive Assistant in the Oklahoma State Senate and owner of GraphixByUs, Inc. — allegedly received instructions from Pittman to alter an image of a check. Investigators say Byas used a computer to modify the document before sending it back electronically. Records also note that Byas previously worked as an assistant finance manager for Pittman’s mother.
The messages were uncovered during search warrants executed at Pittman’s State Capitol office and her Midwest City home as part of the Attorney General’s criminal investigation into possible campaign finance violations.
Search warrant affidavits from October 2025 outline an alleged scheme in which Pittman provided the Ethics Commission with a fraudulent $2,500 cashier’s check, dated January 27, 2025, from Sovereign Bank, as proof she was making payments toward a $35,000 restitution agreement. Investigators later confirmed Sovereign Bank never issued the check.
During the searches, investigators seized:
- Four laptops, three iPads, and multiple iPhones
- Flash drives, external hard drives, and bank statements
- Documents from Sovereign Bank and other financial institutions
Investigators reviewing bank records also flagged questionable campaign expenses, including two Vizio televisions, a laptop purchased at Best Buy, and clothing and dining purchases.
The Ethics Commission told investigators those expenses appeared inconsistent with legitimate campaign use and mirrored spending patterns tied to Pittman’s prior ethics violations.
In a separate incident detailed in court records, investigators say Pittman emailed the Ethics Commission with a letter claiming campaign records were destroyed in a flood at her office. Metadata from the Microsoft Word document allegedly showed it was created on her mother’s computer the same day it was sent.
