Blood Money Betrayal: Business Leader Admits Stealing Cash Meant for Murdered Children Cases | Crime Alert 2PM 12.05.25

A prominent Minnesota business leader admits in federal court that he stole reward money in three gun violence cases and used it to fuel a lavish lifestyle. An elderly Texas woman is sentenced after federal prosecutors prove she dispatched the equivalent of 150,000 lethal doses of fentanyl through the mail in a drug scheme tied to a supposed “side hustle.” Drew Nelson reports.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime a art hourly update breaking crime news Now. I'm
Drew Nelson. A Minnesota Chamber of Commerce leader, admits in
federal court that he stole money meant to solve murders
and used it to fuel his lavish lifestyle. Jonathan Weinhagen
entered a guilty plea to one count of mail fraud.
He once led the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. Federal
prosecutors said the plea resolves a wide embezzlement scheme that

(00:22):
lasted for years. He's being held responsible for more than
two hundred thirteen thousand dollars in death. He remains free
for now. Federal guidelines point to about two to three
years in prison. Weinhagen is accused of stealing donations meant
to solve the shootings of three Minneapolis children. In twenty
twenty one, he stood beside victims of the family at
a press conference.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
The business community has rallied together to create a thirty
thousand dollars fund, a reward of up to ten thousand
dollars per case for information leading to the arrest of
these individuals.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
Prosecutors now say he later took that same thirty thousand
dollars for himself. The reward money had been donated to
crime Stoppers of Minnesota after two children were killed and
a third was injured in North Minneapolis shootings. About a
year later, the cases were still unsolved. Investigator said Weinehagen
contacted Crimestoppers and asked that the unclaimed money be returned.
He directed the check to his home and deposited it

(01:15):
for personal use. Prosecutors say Weinehagen also created a fake
consulting company called Synergy Partners. He used the alias James Sullivan,
signing three sham contracts, sending more than one hundred seven
thousand dollars from the Chamber to that fake company. He
also opened a two hundred thousand dollars line of credit
in the Chamber's name. He moved one hundred twenty five

(01:36):
thousand dollars from that credit line into accounts that he controlled.
The money was used on personal expenses, including luxury vacations.
In January twenty twenty two, prosecutors said he used a
Chamber credit card to pay for a family trip to Hawaii.
More than fifteen thousand dollars went toward first class airfare
and an oceanfront hotel room. When Chamber staff began asking questions.

(01:57):
Prosecutors said Winegarden claimed that James Sullivan had died. He
even created a fake obituary to support the fake personality.
Weinhagen also admitted to a political aspect of the scheme
in twenty twenty one, soliciting sixty thousand dollars in donations
from two businesses meant for a political action committee that
supports Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frye. Prosecutors say he took that

(02:19):
money too. After he resigned from the Chamber in June
of twenty twenty four, Prosecutors say he attempted another fraud.
In January of this year, he applied for a fifty
four thousand, six hundred and sixty one dollars bank loan.
He claimed he earned four hundred twenty five thousand dollars
a year from a restaurant holding company. Weinhagen's resignation came
after an internal audit uncovered a large budget deficit. The

(02:40):
audit led the Chamber to contact the FBI. The sentencing
date has not yet been set. More Crime and Justice
News apt for this. An elderly Texas woman is senence
after federal prosecutor's proof she dispatched the equivalent of one
hundred fifty twenty thousand lethal doses of fentanyl through the

(03:02):
US mail in a drug scheme tied to her supposed
side hustle. Patricia Parker is a seventy four year old
woman from Austin, Texas, now living in Massachusetts. She pleaded
guilty in May to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distribution
of more than three hundred and ten grams of fentanyl.
This week, she was sentenced to two years of probation
with a special condition of nine months of home confinement.

(03:23):
Federal court record show Parker first came under investigation in
May of twenty twenty two. An undercover Food and Drug
Administration agent bought counterfeit amphetamine pills from her that were
later found to contain fentanyl. Ten months later, agents executed
a search warrant at her home. Inside the house, investigators
found more than eighteen thousand pills, some were stored in
an ornamental seasonal cookie ten The pills included counterfeit adderall OxyContin,

(03:47):
and value. Prosecutor say Parker had mailed more than one
thousand parcels suspected to contain illegal drugs. Authority said Parker
worked as a remailer. She received large shipments of illicit
drugs from overseas, broke them into all her packages, and
mailed them out across state lines. Parker told investigators she
had been buying her own medications for years from a
man she only knew as John. When her income from

(04:09):
real estate collapsed during the COVID nineteen pandemic, she said
she could no longer afford her medicine. Her lawyer wrote
that John offered to supply her medications if she agreed
to mail pills for him. The attorney described it as
a quote unquote side hustle. In a letter to the judge,
Parker denied knowing fentanyl was involved. Quote I would never
have knowingly taken part in anything related to such a

(04:32):
dangerous drug. I should have inquired what it was, so
that was my own doing. I see that in retrospect,
but that fact still haunts me to this day. Prosecutors
rejected her claims of ignorance in a sentencing memorandum. They
argued the scheme quote presented dangers that an educated adult
woman must have recognized. Parker will remain on federal probation
while serving her home confinement, sentence. For the latest crime

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and justice news, follow Crimelert's hourly update on your favorite
podcast app with this crime alert. I' Drew Nelson