A Minnesota CEO accused of embezzling a whole bunch of hundreds of {dollars} is anticipated to plead responsible to the scheme that “may make a TV film,” in keeping with stories and prosecutors.
Jonathan Weinhagen, the CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, has been accused of embezzling over $200,000 from the group and utilizing the funds to splurge on an oceanfront keep in Hawaii, amongst different issues, in keeping with the Star Tribune and courtroom data obtained by The Submit.
Weinhagen, 42, who was hit with federal expenses in October, is anticipated to plead responsible to 5 counts of fraud for the embezzlement case — the place the rising star allegedly created a fictional firm, a phony obituary and stole from a $30,000 chamber donation to a Crime Stoppers reward fund, in keeping with the outlet and courtroom data.
“After I first heard about it, it was like ‘Good God, what?’” Scott Burns, who labored with Weinhagen when he was on the St. Paul Chamber’s board, informed the outlet.
“I can’t piece it collectively,” Burns mentioned. “You possibly can make a TV film out of it.”
The married father of 4 abruptly resigned from his place in June 2024. The rising star labored at his household’s St. Paul auto restore store earlier than touchdown the highest place on the Minneapolis Chamber on the age of 33. He made $275,000 in 2023.
The chamber revealed Weinhagen’s departure got here after an inside investigation found a big deficit, resulting in the axing of 5 staffers, the outlet mentioned.
Roughly $290,000 in chamber cash vanished throughout his tenure, financially hobbling the group and forcing it into merger talks earlier this 12 months, in keeping with the outlet.
The flowery scheme lasted from 2019 till the month he resigned, and concerned him stealing over $200,000 from the chamber beneath the alias “James Sullivan,” of the faux consulting firm “Synergy Companions,” his indictment mentioned.
After the chamber started to catch on to the fraud, Weinhagen allegedly tried to “cowl his tracks” by saying Synergy disbanded and Sullivan had died from pancreatic most cancers, prosecutors mentioned.
He introduced Sullivan’s dying in a pretend obituary posted to Legacy.com in 2024.
Weinhagen additionally allegedly used a Minneapolis chamber bank card for private bills, together with taking him and his household on a first-class journey to Hawaii for a two-bedroom oceanfront resort keep, the indictment detailed.
He additionally allegedly tried in 2025, after he left the chamber, to acquire a $54,000 mortgage from SoFi financial institution, courtroom data mentioned.
The alleged corrupt CEO even stole cash from a $30,000 reward fund for recommendations on fixing three 2021 shootings involving youngsters, prosecutors alleged.
The chamber donated the cash to Crime Stoppers, however in 2022, when the cash was nonetheless unclaimed, Weinhagen allegedly requested for the $30,000 again and requested for a refund examine to be despatched to his dwelling handle, the indictment mentioned.
He then allegedly used the money for his private bills.
Weinhagen is anticipated to have his plea listening to on Monday within the US District Court docket in St. Paul. His lawyer didn’t instantly reply to The Submit’s request for remark.
The allegations come as Minnesota is beneath hearth after tens of millions of {dollars} in taxpayer cash have been stolen in an enormous collection of welfare fraud schemes — a few of which can have been funneled to Somalia-based terror group al-Shabab, Metropolis Journal reported earlier this month, citing federal counterterrorism sources.
