ST. LOUIS, MO – September 18, 2026 (STL.News) A former Missouri Department of Transportation supervisor has been indicted on federal fraud charges after investigators accused him of using state-issued credit cards for approximately 248 personal purchases, stealing nearly $30,000 worth of state equipment and staging a burglary in an alleged attempt to conceal part of the scheme.
Artemus Jamal “AJ” Jackson, 37, of Florissant, was indicted Sept. 16 by a federal grand jury in St. Louis on four counts of mail fraud.
Federal prosecutors allege Jackson made approximately $50,000 in personal purchases with MoDOT-issued credit cards between December 2022 and July 2026.
The alleged purchases included electronic equipment, watches, cologne, clothing, shoes, and equipment or accessories for Jackson’s personal Yamaha Raptor ATV, Suzuki motorcycle, and GMC Sierra 1500 pickup truck.
But the allegations extend well beyond unauthorized credit-card purchases.
According to the federal indictment, Jackson allegedly altered vendor invoices to disguise personal transactions as legitimate MoDOT expenses, approved the transactions himself, and submitted the paperwork to his supervisor.
Prosecutors also accuse Jackson of stealing two expensive commercial mowers and a trailer purchased with taxpayer money.
The allegations raise broader questions about financial controls surrounding Missouri’s state purchasing-card program, particularly because the alleged transactions continued for more than three years before being detected.
The Missouri State Auditor’s Office says it uncovered the alleged misuse while conducting a statewide examination of purchasing cards used by state government.
That audit covers a purchasing-card system through which approximately $100 million in taxpayer money is spent annually.
The statewide audit remains underway.
Nearly 250 personal purchases alleged
Jackson began working for MoDOT on Dec. 9, 2013.
He was promoted to maintenance supervisor at MoDOT’s Normandy maintenance facility on Oct. 1, 2022.
According to the indictment, the alleged misuse of state credit cards began in December 2022, roughly two months after his promotion.
Prosecutors say Jackson ultimately made about 248 personal purchases using MoDOT-issued cards.
The alleged activity continued until July 2026.
Federal prosecutors say Jackson attempted to conceal the purchases by altering vendor invoices.
Jackson allegedly made false entries and edits that caused personal transactions to appear to be legitimate MoDOT expenses.
He then allegedly approved those transactions with his own signature before submitting the invoices to his supervisor.
If the allegations are proven, that process raises an important oversight question: how could one employee allegedly make approximately 248 personal transactions over more than three years while manipulating supporting documentation without the activity being detected earlier?
The federal indictment establishes the government’s allegations against Jackson. It does not, by itself, establish whether MoDOT’s existing controls were inadequate or whether required controls were circumvented.
The Missouri State Auditor’s ongoing investigation could provide more information on that issue.
State audit uncovered alleged purchases
Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced in February that his office was auditing state purchasing cards.
The audit is examining purchasing-card spending throughout Missouri state government for potential waste, fraud, and abuse.
According to the Auditor’s Office, state purchasing cards spend about $100 million in taxpayer money each year.
Auditors reviewing those transactions found what Fitzpatrick’s office described as about $50,000 in personal purchases allegedly made by Jackson.
The Auditor’s Office then provided its findings to MoDOT.
Federal charges followed.
The Special Projects Unit of the Missouri State Auditor’s Office is conducting the investigation, which remains in progress.
The Auditor’s Office says the final report, expected in the coming months, will contain additional information about purchases attributed to Jackson.
That makes the Jackson prosecution potentially only one component of a larger state financial-oversight story.
The statewide audit is examining the purchasing-card system itself, not merely Jackson’s alleged transactions.
Two MoDOT mowers allegedly stolen
Some of the most unusual allegations involve two mowers MoDOT purchased in May.
According to prosecutors, Jackson purchased one mower for $9,954 and another for $13,959.
Combined, the equipment cost taxpayers $23,913.
Both mowers were delivered to MoDOT.
Prosecutors allege Jackson then stole them on May 17.
The indictment says Jackson staged a burglary to make it appear that someone else had stolen the equipment.
MoDOT began investigating.
Prosecutors say Jackson became concerned investigators would discover that he had taken the mowers and moved them from a wooded area where he had concealed them.
He allegedly placed the equipment along the shoulder of Interstate 70 near Hanley Road.
The indictment says Jackson left a handwritten note on one mower reading:
“NORMANDY! MOWERS! MODOT!!!”
Jackson allegedly took additional steps to make authorities believe someone else had discovered the missing equipment.
Prosecutors say he made an anonymous telephone call reporting the mowers’ location while disguising his voice.
In another call, according to the indictment, Jackson allegedly claimed that a local elected official had provided information concerning the mowers’ location.
The Justice Department has not publicly identified that elected official, and the government’s announcement does not accuse the unnamed official of wrongdoing.
Missing trailer led to another investigation
Investigators subsequently began asking questions about another piece of state-owned equipment.
On May 28, Jackson was questioned about a 14-foot Big Tex trailer and accessories that he had purchased in 2025 using $5,411 in MoDOT funds.
According to prosecutors, Jackson initially claimed the trailer was stored at a MoDOT facility in Bellefontaine Neighbors.
The indictment alleges that statement was false.
Prosecutors say Jackson had concealed the trailer elsewhere and became concerned that investigators would discover it.
The following day, Jackson allegedly retrieved the trailer and used his personal truck to tow it to Missouri Highway 367, also known as Lewis and Clark Boulevard, in Bellefontaine Neighbors.
The trailer allegedly blocked a traffic lane.
Bellefontaine Neighbors police recovered it.
But investigators obtained evidence that prosecutors say tied Jackson directly to the trailer.
According to the Justice Department, surveillance video from the area showed Jackson towing the trailer with his personal truck to the location where it was abandoned.
The video allegedly subsequently showed him driving away without the trailer.
Allegations approach $80,000
Federal prosecutors identified dollar amounts approaching $80,000.
Jackson allegedly made approximately $50,000 in personal purchases using state-issued credit cards.
The two mowers cost a combined $23,913.
The trailer and accessories cost another $5,411.
Together, those figures total approximately $79,324.
However, some expenditures may overlap in how they are characterized in the indictment, so the approximately $80,000 figure should not be interpreted as a final judicial determination of taxpayer losses.
The federal case will ultimately determine what losses, if any, can legally be attributed to Jackson if he is convicted.
Why wasn’t alleged activity detected sooner?
Beyond the criminal allegations against Jackson, the case presents an important public-finance question.
Jackson allegedly began misusing MoDOT credit cards in December 2022.
The alleged activity continued through July 2026.
That represents more than three and a half years.
And prosecutors are not describing one or two questionable transactions.
They allege approximately 248 personal purchases.
The indictment further alleges Jackson altered invoices, approved transactions himself, and submitted the altered documentation to a supervisor.
Those allegations do not establish that MoDOT officials knowingly permitted improper purchases.
They do, however, make the effectiveness of the state’s purchasing-card controls a legitimate subject for further examination.
That examination is already underway.
Missouri’s State Auditor launched the statewide purchasing-card audit in February — before the Jackson indictment — specifically to determine whether the approximately $100 million flowing through those cards each year is adequately protected against waste, fraud, and abuse.
The audit eventually led investigators to Jackson’s transactions.
Its final findings could therefore be significant well beyond this criminal case.
Missouri examining $100 million card program
Purchasing cards, commonly called P-cards, are widely used by governments and businesses to let authorized employees make routine purchases without using a traditional procurement process for every transaction.
They can reduce administrative costs and speed purchases.
But that convenience also requires strong internal controls.
Those controls can include transaction limits, restricted merchant categories, supervisory review, receipt requirements, invoice verification, automated spending alerts, and periodic audits.
The allegations involving Jackson demonstrate why those controls matter.
According to prosecutors, the alleged purchases included obvious personal consumer items such as cologne, watches, clothing and shoes, as well as accessories for privately owned vehicles.
The state auditor’s final report could help determine whether Missouri’s existing systems routinely identify those types of purchases, whether supervisory review procedures were followed, and whether additional safeguards are necessary.
Jackson’s indictment alone does not allow conclusions about broader failures within Missouri government.
But the statewide audit provides an opportunity to determine whether his alleged conduct represents an isolated circumvention of existing controls or exposes weaknesses that could affect other agencies.
Jackson terminated in July
Jackson’s employment with MoDOT ended July 24, according to federal prosecutors.
He had worked for the department for more than 12 years.
His tenure began Dec. 9, 2013, and he was promoted to maintenance supervisor Oct. 1, 2022.
The indictment alleges the fraudulent activity began approximately two months after that promotion.
The federal court docket identifies the criminal proceeding as United States v. Artemus Jackson, Case No. 4:26-cr-00445, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
The docket shows the indictment was returned Sept. 16 and contains four counts.
A warrant was also issued following the indictment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith is prosecuting the case.
Federal transportation investigators involved
The investigation involves both federal and state authorities.
The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and MoDOT’s Audits and Investigations Division investigated the case with cooperation from the Missouri State Auditor’s Office.
The federal transportation inspector general’s involvement reflects the federal government’s role in investigating fraud involving transportation programs and funds.
The Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Department also recovered the trailer allegedly connected to the scheme.
Four federal mail fraud charges
Jackson faces four mail fraud counts.
Each count carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
Those are maximum statutory penalties and should not be interpreted as the sentence Jackson would necessarily receive if convicted.
Federal sentences depend on the offenses, federal sentencing guidelines, criminal history, loss calculations, and other factors the court considers.
Jackson has not been convicted.
An indictment represents allegations made by prosecutors and a federal grand jury’s determination that probable cause exists to bring criminal charges. The government would have to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt at trial unless the case is otherwise resolved.
State audit could produce broader findings
The next significant development may come from two separate directions.
The first is Jackson’s federal prosecution in St. Louis.
The second is Missouri’s statewide purchasing-card audit.
The latter could ultimately have broader implications for taxpayers.
Missouri’s government spends approximately $100 million annually through state purchasing cards, according to the State Auditor’s Office.
Fitzpatrick’s office says its audit is examining that spending for waste, fraud, and abuse and is expected to be completed in the coming months.
Jackson’s alleged purchases were discovered during that review.
The audit’s final report could reveal whether investigators discovered other questionable spending, what weaknesses exist in current purchasing-card controls, and what changes auditors recommend to protect taxpayer money.
For taxpayers, that may ultimately be the larger story.
The federal indictment focuses on one former MoDOT employee and approximately 248 alleged personal transactions.
The state audit is examining the system through which roughly $100 million passes each year.
STL.News will continue monitoring both Jackson’s federal criminal case and the Missouri State Auditor’s purchasing-card audit as additional records become available.
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Presumption of innocence: The charges against Artemus Jamal “AJ” Jackson are allegations. Jackson is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Sources: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, and Missouri State Auditor’s Office.
