Jonathan Weinhagen, the former CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, was criminally charged in a multi-count federal indictment that was unsealed on Thursday.
According to court documents, Weinhagen set up a sham company called Synergy Partners that was owned by James Sullivan, a fake persona reportedly made up by Weinhagen. In turn, Weinhagen allegedly used his position at the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce to enter into contracts with his fake company.
Weinhagen’s indictment says he “caused the Chamber of Commerce to pay more than $100,000 to Synergy Partners pursuant to the sham contracts” and “borrowed more than $125,000 from a line of credit he opened” in the chamber’s name and transferred those funds to Synergy Partners.
Weinhagen reportedly used the funds “for personal expenses.”
Court documents say Weinhagen tried to cover his tracks by sending “fake emails making it appear that Synergy Partners no longer existed, and that ‘James Sullivan’ had died.” The CEO “even published a fake obituary for ‘James Sullivan’ on legacy.com, stating that Sullivan had died of pancreatic cancer.”
Additionally, the indictment says Weinhagen paid for a Hawaiian vacation for himself and his family, as well as other personal expenses, with a Chamber of Commerce credit card.
Weinhagen’s indictment also says the Chamber of Commerce sent $30,000 to a group called Crime Stoppers in 2021 to fund “three separate $10,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest and prosecution” of those responsible for shootings that killed two children and injured a third.
However, those rewards were not claimed after a year.
Court documents say Weinhagen then devised a scheme to obtain the $30,000 for himself by requesting that Crime Stoppers return the funds to the Chamber of Commerce. The CEO reportedly instructed Crime Stoppers to “send the refund check to his home address, which he falsely represented to be the Chamber of Commerce’s new address.”
The multi-count indictment further alleges that Weinhagen lied about his income and work status when attempting to obtain a $54,661 bank loan. His application for the bank loan was ultimately denied.
Weinhagen is facing five federal charges: two counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, one count of attempted bank fraud, and one count of false statement in loan application.
A high-profile figure, Weinhagen was the CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce from October of 2016 to June of 2024. He resigned last year following a “thorough investigation into the [chamber’s] financial governance and controls.”
In his former role, Weinhagen advocated for the interests of Minneapolis-area businesses and often rubbed shoulders with political figures from across the state. He is currently a member of the Mounds View School Board.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
