Hawaii
Minneapolis CEO accused of embezzling $200K for personal expenses — including first-class trip to Hawaii
A Minnesota CEO accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars is expected to plead guilty to the scheme that “could make a TV movie,” according to reports and prosecutors.
Jonathan Weinhagen, the CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, has been accused of embezzling over $200,000 from the organization and using the funds to splurge on an oceanfront stay in Hawaii, among other things, according to the Star Tribune and court records obtained by The Post.
Weinhagen, 42, who was hit with federal charges in October, is expected to plead guilty to five counts of fraud for the embezzlement case — where the rising star allegedly created a fictional company, a phony obituary and stole from a $30,000 chamber donation to a Crime Stoppers reward fund, according to the outlet and court records.
“When I first heard about it, it was like ‘Good God, what?’” Scott Burns, who worked with Weinhagen when he was on the St. Paul Chamber’s board, told the outlet.
“I can’t piece it together,” Burns said. “You could make a TV movie out of it.”
The married father of four abruptly resigned from his position in June 2024. The rising star worked at his family’s St. Paul auto repair shop before landing the top position at the Minneapolis Chamber at the age of 33. He made $275,000 in 2023.
The chamber revealed Weinhagen’s departure came after an internal investigation discovered a large deficit, leading to the axing of five staffers, the outlet said.
Roughly $290,000 in chamber money vanished during his tenure, financially hobbling the organization and forcing it into merger talks earlier this year, according to the outlet.
The elaborate scheme lasted from 2019 until the month he resigned, and involved him stealing over $200,000 from the chamber under the alias “James Sullivan,” of the fake consulting company “Synergy Partners,” his indictment said.
After the chamber began to catch on to the fraud, Weinhagen allegedly tried to “cover his tracks” by saying Synergy disbanded and Sullivan had died from pancreatic cancer, prosecutors said.
He announced Sullivan’s death in a faux obituary posted to Legacy.com in 2024.
Weinhagen also allegedly used a Minneapolis chamber credit card for personal expenses, including taking him and his family on a first-class trip to Hawaii for a two-bedroom oceanfront hotel stay, the indictment detailed.
He also allegedly tried in 2025, after he left the chamber, to obtain a $54,000 loan from SoFi bank, court records said.
The alleged corrupt CEO even stole money from a $30,000 reward fund for tips on solving three 2021 shootings involving children, prosecutors alleged.
The chamber donated the money to Crime Stoppers, but in 2022, when the money was still unclaimed, Weinhagen allegedly asked for the $30,000 back and asked for a refund check to be sent to his home address, the indictment said.
He then allegedly used the cash for his personal expenses.
Weinhagen is expected to have his plea hearing on Monday in the US District Court in St. Paul. His attorney did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The allegations come as Minnesota is under fire after millions of dollars in taxpayer money were stolen in a massive series of welfare fraud schemes — some of which may have been funneled to Somalia-based terror group al-Shabab, City Journal reported earlier this month, citing federal counterterrorism sources.
Hawaii
Healthier Hawaii: How to protect your hearing; head and neck warning signs you shouldn’t ignore
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – You may have received new earbuds or headphones during the holidays. But there are a few things you keep in mind when it comes to protecting your hearing.
Dr. Ross Shockley, an otolaryngologist with Wilcox Medical Center and Kaua‘i Medical Clinic, offers the following tips for hearing, as well as head and neck health.
Head and neck cancers
Many people are not familiar with head or neck cancers. What causes it and when should someone see a doctor?
- Traditionally, head and neck cancers were mostly associated with longtime smokers and drinkers. Now, more cases are tied to human papillomavirus (HPV), even in nonsmokers and drinkers. HPV is the same virus that can lead to cervical cancer in women. It is common and can have no symptoms.
- If you have throat pain, pain when swallowing that doesn’t go away, or a mass in your neck that feels firm and isn’t moving, don’t wait. See your doctor.
- Head and neck cancers can be treated, no matter the cause, if caught early.
How to prevent hearing loss
More young adults, in their early 20s, are experiencing hearing loss. Can hearing loss be reversed?
- Hearing loss can’t be reversed. Once ringing in ears starts, that can be permanent.
- Wear appropriate hearing protection when using power tools or firing weapons.
- You can find ear protection that blocks out sound for about $15. Protection that covers the whole ear are better than earplugs.
How do you know if music or movies are too loud?
- Don’t turn anything up to the maximum.
- You want the volume to be at the lowest level where you can still hear and understand.
- If there is background noise, don’t crank up the volume all the way to fight it. Use noise-cancelling headphones or go somewhere quieter.
Dangers of cleaning your ears
You may feel the urge to clean your ears. Shockley says do less, or even nothing at all.
- Our ears clean themselves. As new skin grows, it takes wax with it out of your ear.
- When you clean your ears, you’re interrupting that natural cleaning process.
- You can also put yourself at risk for external ear infections – or make your ears itch more.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Hawaii Grown: Few isle players in College Football Playoff final four | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii Island police are renewing their request for the public’s assistance in locating 82-year-old Jacquelyn Glenn of Kailua-Kona, who was reported missing by her family.
Police said she is considered endangered due to her age.
Glenn was last seen on Friday, Dec. 5, around 6:37 a.m., on the 75-200 block of Nani Kailua Dr. in Kailua-Kona.
She was wearing a peach-colored shirt, blue denim jeans, and black tennis shoes. She reportedly mentioned going to Hilo with friends, but did not say when she planned to return.
She is described as 5′6″, 125 Ibs, with curly grey hair and brown eyes.
Police ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jacquelyn Glenn to call the Hawaii Police Department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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