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Local White Collar Crime Case Comes to an End

The story of Denny Hecker’s white collar crime case has finally come to end. The former owner of a local auto empire was sentenced to a prison term of 10 years for two counts of fraud and one count of conspiracy on Friday. Hecker was given the maximum sentence and was also ordered to repay $31.36 million to victims. It is expected that Hecker will serve his prison time in Minnesota, but the final decision of where he will serve his prison term will be left to the United States Bureau of Prisons.

This past September Hecker pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and one count of conspiracy. The counts were related to his less than honest dealings with the bankruptcy court and bankruptcy trustee. In addition, Hecker’s criminal counts were related to his decision to change loan documents. All of these actions led to his defrauding creditors including Chrysler Financial out of $80 million.

The trustee who handled Hecker’s bankruptcy case described Hecker as the most dishonest debtor he had ever dealt with. The court labeled Hecker a “scoundrel” and the prosecution said during the case that Hecker eventually figured out that he needed to cooperate with the court process. Hecker’s defense attorney defended Hecker’s reputation by saying he was a successful businessman that made some bad decisions. The defense attorney analogized what the court heard about Hecker’s life to a series of bad wrecks on a race track instead of seeing the complete race.

Hecker built his auto dealership business into 26 locations and owned car rental businesses including Advantage Rent-A-Car. His businesses generated $6.8 billion in annual revenue. Despite his business success, Hecker still currently owes 200 creditors and will have to pay $500 per month in restitution to creditors upon his release from prison. He is currently in the Sherburne County jail and will be there for the next six weeks until he is transferred to federal prison.

Source: Star Tribune, “Hecker saga ends with no mercy,” Dee DePass and David Phelps, 2/12/11

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Attorney Max Keller
Max Keller

Max Keller has won countless jury trial cases involving misdemeanors and felonies, sex crimes, and DWI’s. He is a member of the Minnesota Society for Criminal Justice, which only allows the top 50 criminal defense attorneys in the state as members. Max is a frequent speaker at CLE’s and is often asked for advice by other defense attorneys across Minnesota.

Experience: Practicing since 1997
Minnesota Registration Status: Active
Bar & Court Admissions: State of Minnesota Minnesota State Court Minnesota Federal Court 8th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals State of Maryland

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