Plymouth Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Small Family-Run Business Out of More Than $1 Million

ST. PAUL - United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced that Christopher Erik Septon, of Plymouth, Minnesota, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and embezzlement of more than $1 million from his former employer.

Septon pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Laura M. Provinzino on October 14, 2026. Sentencing will be set at a later date, and the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

According to court documents, from on or about 2019 until about 2024, Septon devised and executed a scheme to defraud and embezzle from his former employer, Ellis Properties, a small family-run business in Minneapolis that specializes in commercial real estate. Septon worked for Ellis Properties and was trusted to use company funds to pay vendors, contractors, and other third parties.

Septon abused his position to improperly charge more than $800,000 on the company credit card, directing the payments to his own payment-processing accounts. He wrote false statements in the transaction memo lines, misrepresenting to the company that the transactions were business-related and with third parties, when in fact they were transfers to his own accounts. He then transferred the fraud proceeds to bank accounts he controlled.

The defendant additionally created fake invoices, emails, and lies to induce Ellis Properties personnel to issue him reimbursement checks for expenses he did not actually incur.

To fraudulently induce payments, the defendant also falsely represented that various payments pertained to work with various third parties, including government agencies, such as the City of Minneapolis, the Metropolitan Council, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

"The defendant impersonated state and local government agencies to embezzle from a family-run business. Today's guilty plea is one step closer to holding him accountable for defrauding hardworking people," said United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen.

"Christopher Septon was given the keys to a family's business, and instead of protecting it, he picked its pockets," said Marta C. Grijalva, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Chicago Field Office. "He stole more than $1 million from the people who trusted him, then hid behind other people's identities to cover his tracks. There's a special kind of dishonesty in stealing from the very people who gave you an opportunity to earn an honest living. Septon mistook trust for weakness, and that mistake has caught up with him."

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Minneapolis Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Matthew D. Forbes is prosecuting the case.

Note: Previous press release on the indictment here.