Jonathan Weinhagen admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce through sham contracts, credit fraud, and false loan claims.
Minneapolis, MN. — Jonathan Weinhagen, 42, also known as “James Sullivan,” pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of mail fraud, U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced.
Federal prosecutors said that from December 2019 through June 2024, Weinhagen abused his position as president and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce to embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars from the organization and its members through multiple fraudulent schemes.
According to court records, Weinhagen stole $30,000 originally donated by the Chamber to Crime Stoppers of Minnesota to fund rewards for information related to the unsolved murders of two children and the shooting of a third in North Minneapolis in May 2021. After learning the rewards went unclaimed, Weinhagen falsely told Crime Stoppers that the Chamber had moved and directed a refund check to his home, where he used the money for personal expenses…