JEFFERSON CITY — A check for more than $357,000 made out to a Kansas City-area turf company appears to be at the center of an ongoing state probe into a federally funded local tourism grant for the Lake of the Ozarks region.

The Missouri auditor is reviewing the $2.8 million Local Tourism Asset Development grant, awarded by the Missouri Department of Economic Development in 2023 to the Greater Lake of the Ozarks Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Grant money was to be used for improvements and expansion of Ballparks National , a destination baseball park in Macks Creek, in Camden County. At the time, Jeff Vernetti served as general manager of Ballparks National.

Vernetti, a St. Louis native, defeated two-term incumbent state Rep. Lisa Thomas of Lake Ozark in the Aug. 6 Republican primary to represent the 123rd House District.

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In July, Osage Beach Mayor Michael Harmison , who served on the board of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, wrote a letter to the editor of the Lake Sun saying Vernetti presented a copy of the front of a check to the Convention and Visitors Bureau as proof Ballparks National paid a turf company about $357,000, and requested reimbursement.

Harmison said that after the Department of Economic Development requested a cancelled check or bank statement verifying payment, “neither of these were provided.”

Harmison said Vernetti admitted in a later meeting with DED and CVB officials that he did write the check to the turf company, that he did present it for reimbursement, that he did receive the reimbursement “but DID NOT actually pay the Turf company.”

“In that meeting it was made clear that this represented federal fraud,” Harmison said in the letter to the editor. He added in an interview he wasn’t personally at the meeting but that three people who were present “shared that information with me.”

Harmison said he confirmed the accuracy of the letter with the president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau and that he provided the letter to the Osage Beach city attorney for his approval before submitting the letter to the Lake Sun.

In November, while she was still in office, Thomas sent an email to a Camden County sheriff’s deputy “to alert you to an urgent and disturbing situation in Camden County.”

Thomas pointed to the Ballparks National LLC check for $357,127.60, made out to Kansas City-area turf company Mid-America Golf and Landscape Inc. and dated Jan. 18, 2024.

Thomas, in an interview, accused Vernetti of fraud, saying he “took a copy of the front of the uncancelled check, submitted that fraudulently for reimbursement, knowing that he hadn’t paid the money.”

Vernetti, in an interview, said “there was a check that was prepared and was not sent to the company yet because we didn’t have the product.” He said his signature was on the check.

“We never got the material, so then the check wasn’t sent and then we paid it differently later and that’s what caused some of the issues,” he said.

Brock Wilson, a representative of Mid-America Golf and Landscape, said the company pulled out of the project in early April because “we were not paid up to date for work performed and materials on site.”

Trevor Fox, spokesperson for Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, a Republican, said the office was made aware of the issue via a whistleblower complaint made in late 2024.

“We take all such complaints very seriously and are currently reviewing the information we received,” Fox said in a statement Monday.

Vernetti, when asked for reaction to the auditor’s review, said in a text message the DED “has had all of the financials involving this situation since June of 2024 and while some administrative errors were certainly made, we’re confident that any review will show that all funds and vendor payments are accounted for and are hopeful of a positive resolution.”

State officials terminated the grant on June 24.

Kim Froemsdorf, director of federal initiatives for the Department of Economic Development, said DED staff determined “that a portion of grant disbursements were initially directed to ineligible project costs,” adding that eligible costs included “site preparation, construction, and equipment for ball field improvements and expansion.”

She said $878,645 was distributed under the grant and that a “corresponding amount of eligible project costs and payments have been documented.”

Froemsdorf also said in a statement to the Post-Dispatch the decision to terminate the grant resulted from “DED’s administration and review of grant activities” and that the project lacked “adequate financial management and internal controls” required by federal regulations.

Vernetti, who now serves on the House Budget Committee, said Thursday he still maintains a “small ownership stake” in Ballparks National but hasn’t been involved in day-to-day operations since he left in September.

On the first day of the legislative session, Vernetti disclosed “possible personal interest in legislation” to the House, citing his minority ownership of Ballparks National and the 2023 tourism recovery grant.

State law requires legislators to report personal or private interests in legislation pending before the General Assembly.

The ballpark project was one of 26 statewide to receive part of $30 million in funding from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act to support “projects that further the recovery of the tourism, travel, and hospitality industries” from COVID-19.

Froemsdorf said Feb. 28 a request to reopen the grant was under review.

Vernetti worked for several years as a sports broadcaster in St. Louis before relocating to the Lake of the Ozarks area.

As a freshman lawmaker, he sponsored a bill to exempt seasonal and certain small businesses from new minimum wage and sick leave requirements approved in November by voters.