Tony Robinson, 41, of Minneapolis, appeared in court following an indictment on five counts of wire fraud and conspiracy. U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced the charges, which allege that Robinson participated in a scheme with Tezzaree El-Amin Champion involving fraudulent grant applications and misuse of funds at Encouraging Leaders, a Minneapolis-based non-profit.
Robinson served as operations director at Encouraging Leaders, an organization founded by Champion. Authorities say Champion submitted false grant applications and progress reports to various government and private grant programs, then diverted significant portions of the awarded funds for personal use. Both Champion and Robinson are accused of keeping grant money for themselves.
The organizations affected include the U.S. Department of Justice, Hennepin County, the City of Minneapolis, the Minnesota Department of Education, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, and the Minnesota State Arts Board.
According to investigators, from December 2021 to October 2022 Robinson worked with a freelance worker in Africa to draft and submit false progress reports about how grant money was used. The reports claimed that Encouraging Leaders had organized events and activities that did not occur or exaggerated their involvement in actual events. They also falsely stated that students received assistance from the organization when they had not.
The fraudulent activity led to losses exceeding $1 million for victims during Robinson’s involvement.
Tezzaree El-Amin Champion was charged separately and pled guilty. On November 18, 2025, U.S. District Judge Katherine M. Menendez sentenced Champion to 84 months in prison followed by 60 months supervised release and ordered restitution payments totaling $3,479,575. In sentencing Champion, Judge Menendez said the conduct was “relentless” and “reflects a scale and a depth that is disturbing.”
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the United States Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation division, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Minneapolis Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph H. Thompson and Matthew D. Forbes are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation; defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
