Jonathan Weinhagen, the former CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce now charged with embezzlement, appears to have used an alias to donate to his campaign for Mounds View School Board.
Last week, Weinhagen was accused of embezzling from the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce in a multi-count federal indictment. According to the charges, 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 used his position at the Chamber of Commerce to enter into contracts with his fake company, took significant sums of money from the Chamber, and used those funds for “personal expenses.”
Court documents say the Chamber eventually sought information about the payments to Synergy Partners but 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.”
Weinhagen’s indictment also says the ex-CEO “even published a fake obituary for ‘James Sullivan’ on legacy.com, stating that Sullivan had died of pancreatic cancer.”
According to campaign finance records, a couple named Jim and Mary Sullivan gave $1,200 to Weinhagen’s 2023 campaign for Mounds View School Board. A PO Box is listed as the couple’s address. Further, the campaign finance report lists their occupation as “Owner/Not Employed” while their employer is described as “Synergy Partners/Not Employed.”
Alpha News reached out to Weinhagen for this story but did not immediately hear back.
Weinhagen won his campaign for Mounds View School Board in 2023, but resigned his seat in the wake of the federal charges. The Mounds View School Board has already scrubbed the former CEO from its website.
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.
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.
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.
