Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis man charged in million-dollar fraud scheme
A Minneapolis man is accused of participating in a fraud scheme that stole more than $1 million in state, federal and local grants.
Tony Robinson, 41, is charged with five counts of wire fraud and conspiracy offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota.
The attorney’s office said from December 2021 to October 2022, Robinson facilitated the submission of false grant progress reports for an organization called Encouraging Leaders.
“Robinson’s reports claimed Encouraging Leaders used grant funds to organize events and activities that never occurred, and overstated Encouraging Leaders’ involvement in events that had occurred,” the attorney’s office said. “Robinson’s reports also falsely claimed that Encouraging Leaders had assisted various students, when in fact it had not.”
Robinson is accused of defrauding the U.S. Department of Justice, Hennepin County, the city of Minneapolis, the Minnesota departments of education and human services, the Minnesota State Arts Board and other agencies.
Tezzaree El-Amin Champion, who founded Encouraging Leaders, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and illegally possessing a firearm as a felon in February. He was sentenced last month to seven years in prison and five years of supervised release. He also must pay nearly $3.5 million in restitution.
Encouraging Leaders received more than $2.7 million in grants, much of which Champion took for himself, according to court records. During Robinson’s alleged involvement in the scheme, more than $1 million was fraudulently taken.
Champion also engaged in fraud using a marketing company he owned called Futuristic Management, court records show. That group stole more than $2.1 million. His co-defendant in that case, Marcus Hamilton, also pleaded guilty.
People pack the overflow room outside the Minneapolis City Council chambers on Thursday in opposition to a controversial police drone proposal that would have contracted with the company Skydio, which also has sold drones to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Israeli military.
Cait Kelley | MPR News
Minneapolis, MN
Federal lawsuit raises questions about culture at prior job of Minneapolis mayor’s nominee for fire chief
A federal lawsuit raises questions about the culture at a prior job of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s nominee for fire chief.
In those court documents, there are allegations of harassment and discrimination in an East Coast fire department during Reginald Freeman’s time there as chief.
The city is not commenting on this lawsuit, saying it was filed several years ago, doesn’t mention Freeman and concerns allegations involving a different city and state.
Mayor Frey had high praise for Freeman as he announced him as his choice for the chief’s position in May.
Frey nominates Reginald Freeman to be next Minneapolis fire chief
“The kind of leadership that he brings to the table is second to none,” the mayor declared at the time.
But a 2022 lawsuit raises questions about Freeman’s time as fire chief in Hartford, Connecticut.
“It should always be an open process,” says Paul Ostrow, a former Minneapolis City Council president. “It should always be one where the legislative body has the information they need to properly vet the executive’s appointment.”
Two female firefighters filed that federal lawsuit against the City of Hartford, saying they were “harassed and discriminated against by their employer because of their sex and/or race.”
The document also says, “nearly every female who rose to the ranks of lieutenant or higher either filed an internal complaint of harassment and discrimination — or tragically, surrendered their promotion in order to avoid the hostility of the executive-level fire chiefs.”
It doesn’t mention Freeman specifically or accuse him of any wrongdoing.
But the lawsuit includes allegations of mistreatment while he was leading the department between 2016 and 2021.
We asked Ostrow: “Is it reasonable to say that the chief, the fire chief, would have known about this?”
“I think it’s reasonable to conclude that as chief, he would know about these things,” he says. “Certainly, that he should have known about these things.”
Ostrow calls the allegations “troubling.”
The nomination is now set for a public hearing next week.
We wondered if all of this should be part of the discussion.
“It should be,” Ostrow says. “The most important question I would ask, number one: ‘Was this disclosed to the mayor or the search team?’”
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS spoke with the mayor’s office late Wednesday night.
They told us again they’re not commenting on the lawsuit.
We’re still working to get a comment from Freeman himself.
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