Former President and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce Pleads Guilty to Fraud

MINNEAPOLIS – Jonathan Weinhagen, also known as “James Sullivan,” age 42, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to one count of Mail Fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen. 

From December 2019 through June 2024, defendant Weinhagen abused his position as President and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce to defraud and embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Chamber of Commerce and its business members, in several ways. 

First, Weinhagen stole reward money for the unsolved murders of children.  In May 2021, two minor children were killed, and a third child was injured, in a series of shootings in North Minneapolis.  On May 21, 2021, the Chamber of Commerce contributed $30,000 to Crime Stoppers of Minnesota to fund three separate $10,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the persons responsible for the shootings.  Approximately one year later, Weinhagen emailed the president of Crime Stoppers of Minnesota to inquire about the status of the rewards.  When he learned that the rewards were unclaimed, Weinhagen asked that the $30,000 be returned to the Chamber of Commerce because it had “made a commitment to [its] investors to deploy the resources into the North Minneapolis Community.”  Weinhagen told Crime Stoppers to send the refund check to Weinhagen’s home, which Weinhagen falsely represented was the Chamber of Commerce’s new address.  On June 6, 2022, Crime Stoppers of Minnesota sent the $30,000 check to Weinhagen’s home.  Weinhagen stole this money and used it to pay his personal expenses.

Second, between December 2019 and April 2021, Weinhagen entered into three sham consulting agreements on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce with Synergy Partners, a fictional company the defendant invented for purposes of defrauding the Chamber of Commerce.  Weinhagen signed the sham agreements using the alias “James Sullivan” and caused the Chamber of Commerce to pay a total of $107,500 to Synergy Partners. Weinhagen deposited this money into a bank account he opened in Synergy Partners’ name and used the money for his own personal expenses.

Third, in November 2020, Weinhagen surreptitiously opened a $200,000 line of credit in the Chamber of Commerce’s name.  Over the course of the next year, Weinhagen drew $125,000 from the line of credit, which he transferred to Synergy Partners’ bank account and used for personal expenses. 

Fourth, in January 2022, Weinhagen used the Chamber of Commerce’s credit card to pay for a vacation to Hawaii.  Weinhagen charged $15,701 to the Chamber of Commerce’s credit card for first-class airfare and a two-bedroom ocean-front room at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for him and his family.  The defendant later created fake documents to make it appear that the charges were for legitimate Chamber of Commerce business.

Finally, in January 2025, after he was fired from the Minnesota Regional Chamber of Commerce, Weinhagen applied for a $54,661 bank loan. In the application, Weinhagen falsely stated that he earned an annual income of $425,000 from a Minnesota-based restaurant holding company.  Weinhagen provided a fake paystub in support of this bank loan.  In reality, Weinhagen was not a salaried employee of, and did not earn $425,000 per year from, the restaurant holding company.

Weinhagen pled guilty before District Judge Nancy E. Brasel.  A sentencing hearing will be held at a later date.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew C. Murphy.