Jonathan Weinhagen, 42, the former president and CEO of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, pleaded guilty Monday to mail fraud for stealing $30,000 meant for Crime Stoppers rewards.
The funds were intended to help solve the shooting of three North Minneapolis children: Ladavionne Garrett, Jr., Trinity Ottoson-Smith and Aniya Allen.. Ottoson-Smith and Allen died days after the shooting, while Garrett has been recovering through multiple surgeries.
According to court documents, Weinhagen asked Crime Stoppers to return the chamber’s $30,000 donation directly to him. He created a fake consulting company under the alias “James Sullivan,” charging the chamber $107,500 and opening a $200,000 line of credit in the chamber’s name, from which he withdrew $125,000.
Weinhagen also used the chamber’s credit card for a family vacation to Hawaii, costing nearly $16,000, and submitted a falsified paystub claiming $425,000 annual income to secure a bank loan.
A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
Leave a Reply