Hecker pleads not guilty to new fraud charges

Published 1:15 pm Friday, March 26, 2010

Former auto magnate Denny Hecker and a former executive will go on trial on fraud charges Oct. 18.

The trial date was set as Hecker and Steven Leach were arraigned Thursday in U.S. District Court on new counts stemming from a March indictment. They both pleaded not guilty.

The indictment charges both men with eight new counts of wire fraud and it charges Hecker with 10 counts of bankruptcy fraud for allegedly concealing boats, cars, jewelry and other assets from the court.

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Both men have already pleaded not guilty to charges in a previous indictment that accuses them of scheming to defraud Chrysler Financial and other lenders out of millions.

Hecker was one of Minnesota’s largest auto dealers before his empire collapsed.