A Minnesota man has found himself in hot water after allegedly embezzling over a million dollars from his employer, a commercial real estate business based in Minneapolis. 52-year-old Christopher Erik Septon of Plymouth was indicted following a federal investigation, according to an announcement from Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. In what reads like a calculated betrayal, Septon is accused of using his insider access to funnel company funds into his own coffers over an extended period.
Septon, formerly employed by Ellis Properties from 2010 to 2024, held a position that gave him the authority to hand out company cash to pay different parties for services rendered. According to an official statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office, he is alleged to have taken advantage of this trust. In one aspect of the scheme, over $800,000 was wrongfully charged to the company credit card, with payments redirected to payment-processing accounts owned by Septon himself. He masked these transactions with false statements in the memo lines, creating an illusion that they were business-related. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson remarked, "Fraudsters never stop inventing new ways to steal, and Septon’s crime—posing as government agencies in his scheme to embezzle more than a million dollars—was no exception."
The indictment further details how Septon also generated "reimbursement" checks by submitting bogus invoices and communications, tricking company personnel into issuing checks for non-existent business expenses. The deception reached a point where Septon even impersonated government agencies, claiming Ellis Properties owed monies that were ultimately diverted to his personal accounts.
Septon's actions led to profits from the fraud being mingled and moved from one account to another, before finally lining his pockets. In total, this financial charade resulted in the loss of more than one million dollars from Ellis Properties. During the course of his initial hearing, charges laid out against him included four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. The case has been pieced together through diligent work by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Minneapolis Police Department. "The fraudsters of Minnesota should understand this: no matter how clever the con, we are coming for you, and you will face federal justice," Thompson was quoted as saying.
An indictment does not equate guilt; it is but an accusation. As per legal standard, Septon is presumed innocent unless proven otherwise in judicial proceedings. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Forbes has been appointed to prosecute. As this case unfolds, the proceedings will undoubtedly bring more insights into the extent of Septon's alleged financial subterfuges.
