A former Minneapolis regional chamber CEO admitted in federal court that he stole funds from the organization and its partners through fabricated vendors, misdirected reward payments, false loan documents, and improper credit use, and he has pleaded guilty to one count of Mail Fraud.
Federal prosecutors say Jonathan Weinhagen, who also used the name “James Sullivan,” abused his role as President and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce between 2019 and 2024. He conceded in U.S. District Court to a single count of Mail Fraud tied to a series of schemes that diverted chamber money into accounts he controlled. The plea follows a multiagency investigation into missing funds and suspect financial activity.
Investigators trace the schemes back to December 2019, when Weinhagen began authorizing payments and creating paperwork that funneled chamber resources to sham entities. One method involved inventing a consulting firm called Synergy Partners and signing three bogus agreements under the alias “James Sullivan.” Those fake contracts led to $107,500 being paid from the chamber to a bank account Weinhagen controlled and then used for personal expenses.
Another scheme exploited a line of credit opened in the chamber’s name in late 2020, nominally for organizational needs. Prosecutors say Weinhagen opened a $200,000 credit line without proper authorization and withdrew roughly $125,000 over the subsequent year. Those funds were routed into the same fictitious Synergy Partners account and then spent on personal items rather than chamber operations.
One of the most troubling thefts involved reward money for unsolved child murders in North Minneapolis. In May 2021 the chamber donated $30,000 to Crime Stoppers of Minnesota as three separate $10,000 rewards for information. When the rewards remained unclaimed, Weinhagen asked Crime Stoppers to return the $30,000 and instructed that the refund check be sent to his home, falsely claiming that address as the chamber’s new location, and he then used the returned funds for personal expenses.
Weinhagen also put chamber credit to private use during a family trip to Hawaii in January 2022, charging $15,701 for first-class airfare and an ocean-front room for his family. To cover his tracks he later manufactured documents purporting to show those charges were legitimate chamber business. Prosecutors identified those fabricated records as part of the pattern of deception used to conceal personal spending.
After his employment ended, the scheme extended into false statements on loan paperwork. In January 2025 Weinhagen applied for a $54,661 bank loan and submitted a paystub that claimed he earned $425,000 per year from a Minnesota restaurant holding company. The government says those income claims were false and that he was not a salaried employee of that company, rendering the loan application fraudulent.
Weinhagen entered his guilty plea before District Judge Nancy E. Brasel, and sentencing is scheduled for a later date. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service, agencies that traced transactions, reviewed documents, and corroborated the fabricated agreements. Federal prosecutors say the evidence supports the charge of Mail Fraud tied to bank deposits, mailed checks, and related correspondence.
The Department of Justice filing lists the amounts, dates, and the methods used to move money out of the chamber and into accounts under Weinhagen’s control. It details the $30,000 returned from Crime Stoppers, the $107,500 paid to Synergy Partners, the $125,000 drawn from the chamber’s line of credit, and the $15,701 charged on the chamber credit card for travel. Those specific figures form the core of the government’s factual statement in the case.
U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced the guilty plea, and the prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew C. Murphy. The plea resolves the single federal count the defendant faced in connection with the financial misconduct at the chamber. Additional civil or administrative consequences could follow, depending on the chamber’s internal review and any restitution orders at sentencing.
The matter underscores the risks organizations face when oversight lapses and key financial controls fail, and it highlights how a trusted executive position can be exploited to mask self-dealing. The court record will now move toward sentencing, where a judge will consider the loss amounts, the defendant’s conduct, and any recommendations from prosecutors or probation officials. Authorities say the investigative work remains a model of interagency cooperation in uncovering complex financial frauds.
