Co-founder of Minnesota THC drink company sentenced after admitting to theft from company

The co-founder of a Minnesota-based THC drink company who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft after being accused of embezzling over $45,000 from the business has been sentenced, according to court records filed Monday.

A judge sentenced Christian Schenk to 45 days in jail, followed by two years of supervised probation. Court records show the judge also stayed a 364-day jail sentence for two years.

Schenk, a 47-year-old man from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is referred to in a criminal complaint as the "former co-founder" of Crooked Beverage Company. The court document said Ex-Minnesota House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler reported to police in November 2023 that Schenk had been making "fraudulent, personal purchases" on the company's Square account. When confronted about the fraudulent activity four months earlier, Schenk resigned the business.

In the weeks following Schenk's resignation, the complaint said he withdrew $47,950 from the business's account. 

In an interview with authorities, Schenk said he was "super pissed" and took the money to offset what he believed Crooked Beverage owed him, according to the court document.

The complaint added that Schenk impersonated prominent Minnesota attorney Chris Madel to deceive another company he co-founded into ignoring a charging order requiring him to pay distributions to his ex-wife, to whom he owed more than $300,000.

Other founders of Crooked Beverage received a letter, purportedly from Madel, saying that the court order against Schenk would not adversely affect their business, according to the court document. As a result, his business partners trusted him, which "allowed him the ability to steal funds from the company."

However, Winkler eventually learned Schenk was not actually represented by Madel, leading to an investigation, the complaint said.

Per the court document, investigators found that Schenk, who controlled a JPMorgan account for Crooked Beverage in addition to a Square account created to receive payments for online sales, spent more than $7,000 on personal expenses, including purchases at Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Amazon and other places. An additional $20,000 meant for the company is believed to have been used fraudulently by Schenk.

The 47-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of gross misdemeanor theft this past August.