The great nephew of one of the top-ranking Democrats in the Minnesota Senate was sentenced to seven years in prison Monday on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and illegal firearm possession.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Katherine Menendez described Tezzaree El-Amin Champion’s fraudulent activity as “relentless” and said it “reflects a scale and a depth that is disturbing.”
Champion was first charged in May 2024 and pleaded guilty in February of this year. He is the great nephew of Minnesota Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis.
Court documents state that he engaged in a fraud scheme from 2020 until 2024 through two Minneapolis-based entities he founded and controlled: a marketing company he owned, Futuristic Management LLC, and a non-profit organization he led, Encouraging Leaders.
His scheme targeted “a large variety of federal, state, local, and private COVID-19 relief programs and other sources of funding.” All told, he defrauded the government of approximately $3.5 million, court documents say.
Prosecutors asked for a sentence of 140 months, noting that Champion’s conduct was made more serious by the fact that he illegally possessed a firearm.
“Champion knew very well he was prohibited from possessing a firearm. In 2018 he was convicted of second-degree assault after shooting a man. Yet he possessed a gun anyway, at the same time he was committing fraud,” prosecutors wrote.
They said his “sprawling, convoluted scheme” defrauded a “plethora of government agencies and private organizations,” including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Small Business Administration, PayPal, Hennepin County, the City of Minneapolis, the Minnesota Department of Education, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, and more.
Champion’s attorneys asked for a lighter sentence, arguing that he is “not the typical white-collar offender” because his “life has been shaped by hardship, growing up in a disadvantaged neighborhood and unstable homes.”
“Despite his offense, Mr. Champion has consistently shown himself to be someone who helps others whether its desire to inspire his peers by writing a book when he was 13, to starting a non-profit to help his community,” his attorneys wrote.
“The letters of support submitted on his behalf describe a man who is generous, inspired, and deeply connected to his community,” they added, noting that the victim of his prior assault wrote a letter in support of Champion.
Judge Menendez ultimately sentenced Champion to 84 months and ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of $3.4 million.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
