Former Minneapolis chamber of commerce chair pleads responsible to stealing murdered kids reward cash | EUROtoday

A former Minneapolis chief govt embezzled greater than $330,000, together with donations meant for a reward to resolve the homicide of two kids.

Jonathan Weinhagen, who additionally had the alias James Sullivan, pleaded responsible on Monday to mail fraud from December 2019 to June 2024. Weinhagen was the president and chief govt of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, Valley News Live reported.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service carried out the investigation, discovering a number of situations of fraud after an inner monetary investigation revealed a $500,000 finances deficit.

One of essentially the most notable instances was Weinhagen’s theft of $30,000 used for a homicide reward.

In May 2021, two kids have been killed, and a 3rd was injured in a collection of North Minneapolis shootings. To get extra info on the crime, the chamber Weinhagen labored for donated $30,000 to Crime Stoppers Minnesota.

About a 12 months after the donation, Weinhagen requested if the reward had been claimed. When CrimeStoppers confirmed it had not, he requested its return and falsely acknowledged that the chamber had “made a commitment to [its] investors to deploy the resources into the North Minneapolis community.”

Weinhagen additionally informed CrimeStoppers to ship the verify to his residence deal with after telling them that was the official location of the chamber. The 42-year-old later deposited it for his personal private use.

Another case of fraud occurred when, from December 2019 to April 2021, Weinhagen created a fictional consulting firm, Synergy Partners, and entered into three fraudulent consulting agreements with the chamber.

Weinhagen used the alias James Sullivan to signal contracts totaling $107,500, costing the chamber cash.

In November 2020, Weinhagen additionally opened a $200,000 line of credit score within the chamber’s title, and he drew $125,000 over the subsequent 12 months to switch to Synergy Partners for private bills.

Prosecutors present in January 2022 that Weinhagen used the chamber’s bank card to pay for a household trip to Hawaii, together with over $15,000 in first-class airfare and an oceanfront lodge room.

The most penalty for fraud instances is 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fantastic.

After Weinhagen’s resignation from the chamber in 2024, prosecutors stated he once more tried to commit fraud.

In January 2025, he utilized for a $54,661 financial institution mortgage, falsely claiming he earned $425,000 yearly from a Minnesota restaurant holding firm.

The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that Weinhagen faces between 27 and 33 months in jail, might want to make restitution funds totalling $213,200, and shall be fined between $10,000 and $95,000.

Weinhagen’s sentencing shall be learn at a later date.