Jonathan Weinhagen, the former CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud on Monday. A high-profile figure in the Twin Cities, Weinhagen was charged with embezzlement in October.
According to the former CEO’s federal indictment, Weinhagen set up a fictional company called Synergy Partners that was owned by James Sullivan, a fake persona reportedly made up by Weinhagen. In turn, Weinhagen allegedly “caused the Chamber of Commerce to pay more than $100,000 to Synergy Partners pursuant to the sham contracts.”
Further, the former CEO allegedly “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’s indictment said the Chamber eventually sought information about payments to Synergy Partners, but Weinhagen tried to cover his tracks with “fake emails making it appear that Synergy Partners no longer existed, and that ‘James Sullivan’ had died.”
Additionally, the former CEO allegedly paid for a Hawaiian vacation for himself and his family with a Chamber credit card.
The federal indictment also said the Chamber sent $30,000 to a nonprofit 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 and Weinhagen reportedly devised a scheme to obtain the $30,000 for himself by requesting that the funds be returned to the Chamber and instructing the nonprofit to “send the refund check to his home address, which he falsely represented to be the Chamber of Commerce’s new address.”
Additionally, the former CEO’s multi-count indictment 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 reportedly denied.
Weinhagen was indicted in October on 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. The alleged criminal acts took place between December 2019 and January of 2025.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, Weinhagen pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and will be sentenced at a later date.
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 rubbed shoulders with Minnesota political figures. The former CEO was also a member of the Mounds View School Board, but resigned his seat in the wake of the federal charges.
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.
