East St. Louis, IL (CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS) – An adjunct instructor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is facing federal charges for allegedly using his university-issued credit card to pay for tens of thousands of dollars in personal expenses, including rent, athletic fees, marijuana and high-end kitchen knives.
On Aug. 18, a federal grand jury indicted Jonathan C. Clark, an SIUE lecturer and lab manager, on one count of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud.
Prosecutors allege Clark defrauded the university of more than $100,000 between Nov. 11, 2022, and March 16, 2025, by using his university credit card for various personal expenses and then falsifying credit card invoices and affidavits he submitted to SIUE to make it look like the purchases were for legitimate purposes like the laboratory he managed and other expenses needed for teaching.
Clark was scheduled to appear for the first time in federal court in East St. Louis on Wednesday, but he did not show up, and a court-appointed lawyer said he had yet to hear from him. The judge said a new date would be set for an initial appearance and arraignment.
An SIUE spokesperson said Clark resigned his position in April 2025, after the university notified him that it intended to discharge him.
Clark allegedly carried out the years-long fraud by having the personal items he purchased with his SIUE-issued credit card shipped to his office and home through the U.S. Postal Service and other interstate commercial shipping services like FedEx, court records show.
The indictment mentioned one particular delivery: A package of kitchen knives Clark ordered from artisan knife maker Coolina. The package arrived via FedEx to Clark’s SIUE office from Coolina’s Fort Lauderdale, Florida, facility. The indictment doesn’t detail the cost of the knives but the company’s website advertises a selection of “big, badass knives built for everyday prep, heavy chopping, and precision slicing” that cost between roughly $100 and $300 apiece.
Court records also detail three allegedly fraudulent PayPal transfers Clark made using his SIUE credit card:$370.74 and $1,652.87 sent to recipients identified only by their initials in the Metro East communities of Godfrey and St. Jacob, as well as $612.85, paid to the Glen-Ed Sports Association in Edwardsville.
Cormac Biesk can be reached via email at mackbiesk@gmail.com. The Saluki Local Reporting Lab is a collaboration with Capitol News Illinois.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
