Former Mpls. Chamber of Commerce head stole reward money for north Minneapolis shooting victims, indictment says
The former head of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars, some of which was meant to help the families of three north Minneapolis children who were shot in the spring of 2021.
The federal indictment filed Wednesday says Jonathan Weinhagen served as the president of the chamber up until 2024 and carried out this scheme involving a false name and a fake company: Synergy Partners, owned by "James Sullivan."
Documents say that Weinhagen created a "fictional consulting company" using an alias, and charged the chamber "more than $100,000" and "borrowed more than $125,000 from a line of credit" he opened at a bank in the chamber's name.
Once the chamber started asking questions, Weinhagen covered his tracks by "drafting and sending fake emails," according to the indictment. He even published a sham obituary for his "James Sullivan" alias.
Documents say that in 2022, Weinhagen launched a scheme to obtain $30,000 that the chamber had donated to Crime Stoppers.
The money financed three rewards for the arrest and prosecution of the people responsible for shooting three north Minneapolis children: Ladavionne Garrett, Jr., Trinity Ottoson-Smith and Aniya Allen. Ottoson-Smith and Allen died days after they were shot; with the help of numerous surgeries, Garrett's condition continues to improve.
Investigators allege Weinhagen asked Crime Stoppers to return the chamber's $30,000 donation directly to him. He's also accused of using the company card to buy first-class flights and oceanfront rooms in Hawaii.
Crime Stoppers said the following in a statement to WCCO:
People or organizations will provide money to CrimeStoppers to enhance a reward and hopefully increase the number of tips received for a particular crime. When people do this, they sign a contract with CrimeStoppers and that money is set into a separate account. These contracts are usually for a one-year duration. The people/organizations donating money can request the funding back. This is a commonplace occurrence.
The organization said it would not be commenting on the indictment.
"I had trust that no one would do anything like this," said KG Wilson, Allen's grandfather and a Minneapolis community activist.
"You lived your best life in Hawaii, took trips, everything for you and your family to be ok. What about our family?" said Sharrie Jennings, Garrett's grandmother. "These are God's children, and you literally stole from them, and you gonna get everything you deserve."
In a statement, the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce said it is cooperating with the investigation and working to make sure something like this never happens again.
Weinhagen faces two counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, one count of attempted bank fraud as well as one count of making a false statement on a loan application. He's set to be arraigned on Nov. 13.
The Mounds View School Board said on Friday that Weinhagen resigned as a member. He had been serving on the board since 2014, and his current term was set to run until Jan. 3, 2028. The board said it will discuss the next steps to fill the remainder of the term.
A spokesperson with Mounds View Public Schools said investigators "have not indicated" that the allegations are connected to Weinhagen's service as a school board member.
"The District undergoes an independent, annual financial audit that is made public to the community," the spokesperson said. "District budgets are approved by a majority vote of the Board, and no single Board member has access to the District's funds or budgets."