Charges: Ex-president of Minneapolis Regional Chamber embezzled more than $200,000

The ex-president of Minneapolis’ Regional Chamber of Commerce who abruptly departed last year following an internal financial investigation now faces charges that he embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the organization and used the money for personal expenses.

Jonathan Weinhagen, 42, appeared in federal court Thursday in connection with the five-count fraud indictment alleging he “abused his position” at the company to carry out the fraud scheme, which involved pouring stolen money into a fictitious consulting company he created under an alias.

Weinhagen, who led the chamber beginning in 2016, resigned suddenly in June 2024 after an internal investigation was launched into the organization’s finances — the exact details of which were murky at the time. The probe later revealed that $290,000 was missing.

The indictment illustrates an elaborate fraud plot orchestrated by Weinhagen that began in December 2019 and lasted through June 2024, the same month he departed the organization.

In the U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Weinhagen was released on a $25,000 unsecured bond. His next court appearance has yet to be scheduled. Court records indicate he intends to hire Joseph Dixon as his attorney. The Minnesota Star Tribune left a message for Dixon.

The charges allege Weinhagen stole more than $200,000 from the chamber by entering into contracts with a consulting company he made up, Synergy Partners, and by using an alias, “James Sullivan.” Prosecutors in court records said Weinhagen steered money from the contracts into a bank account he opened under the faux company’s name and used the funds for personal expenses. The indictment also accuses Weinhagen of using a Chamber of Commerce credit card toward a first-class flight and a two-bedroom, oceanfront room in Hawaii for a family vacation that he later falsely documented was a “personal expenditure” for chamber business.

Asked about the accusations, a public relations firm representing the chamber responded that the organization is aware of the criminal charges and “will continue to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s investigation and prosecution.”

When chamber members saw the line of credit, Weinhagen “attempted to cover his tracks” by sending emails that pretended Synergy Partners no longer existed and that his alias, James Sullivan, died, the indictment said. Weinhagen published a fake obituary for James Sullivan on Legacy.com that said Sullivan died from pancreatic cancer, the charges mentioned.

Federal prosecutors also charged Weinhagen with mail fraud, citing money he allegedly stole that was meant to raise reward funds for a series of then-unsolved shootings in 2021 that struck three young children within weeks. The indictment said the Chamber of Commerce donated $30,000 to Crime Stoppers to bolster efforts for any information leading to arrests in the shootings that killed Trinity Ottoson-Smith, 9, and Aniya Allen, 6, and injured Ladavionne Garrett Jr., who was 10 years old at the time.

The rewards remained unclaimed a year later. At that point, Weinhagen asked for the $30,000 back and requested the refund check be sent to his home address, which he falsely claimed was the chamber’s new address. Prosecutors in the indictment said he converted the reward money into his own funds and used it for personal purchases.

The indictment shows Weinhagen’s alleged fraud crimes continued after his departure from the chamber. Earlier this year, Weinhagen tried to obtain a fraudulent bank loan by falsely claiming in an application for a $54,661 loan that he worked for a Minnesota-based restaurant holding company and earned a $425,000 salary, providing a faux pay stub to the SoFi bank branch. The bank ultimately denied the application.

Weinhagen, who led the chamber since 2016, previously worked at the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Mounds View Public Schools board. A message was left with a spokesperson for the school district.

Six weeks after his departure, a $500,000 projected deficit led to layoffs and catalyzed discussions of merging the St. Paul- and Minneapolis-area chambers.

Regarding a potential merger, interim chamber president Mike Logan said: “A regional chamber of commerce is right for the region, and the MRC is committed to making it happen. The organizations are working together on solutions for a combined entity.”

A Chamber of Commerce spokesperson told the Minnesota Star Tribune that the organization has been “working diligently to make process and governance changes to help rebuild and strengthen the organization.”