Former car dealer Denny Hecker faces potential court sanctions if he doesn't provide sworn testimony fully disclosing his finances, a judge said Friday in an order critical of Hecker's previous disclosure in his divorce case.
"Hecker raises far more questions than he provides answers," Hennepin County District Judge Jay Quam wrote of the financial claims that the bankrupt dealer released Monday.
Quam demanded complete -- and sworn -- answers from Hecker by Nov. 13. The judge is trying to determine whether Hecker should be compelled to pay $7,500 a month in support to his estranged wife, Tamitha Hecker, and their two children, ages 14 and 8. Tamitha Hecker is seeking spousal support under what she claims is a valid agreement signed by the two during their marriage. Hecker and his lawyer, Bill Skolnick, claim the agreement is void and that Hecker is unemployed and without the means to pay her.
At a hearing on Oct. 22, Quam gave Hecker two weeks to submit a detailed accounting of his personal finances since he filed for bankruptcy in June claiming $18 million in assets and $767 million in debts. Hecker got the deadline extended a week, and his submission was made public earlier this week.
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Tamitha Hecker's attorney, Becky Toevs Rooney, said she'll file a response Monday detailing numerous discrepancies between what Hecker claims for income and bank accounts in his divorce case, and what he claims in filings with the U.S. bankruptcy case.
In the divorce filing, Hecker outlined 12 sources of income, including $25,000 through four separate "consulting fees" and $25,000 for "reimbursement of expenses." He listed $125,155 for cashing out a 401(k) fund and a $100,000 loan from LKMCD Properties, an entity created by the new owner of Inver Grove Heights Toyota.
He got $50,000 in loans from Ralph Thomas, who hired Hecker in the 1980s to manage his Minneapolis Auto Auction. Thomas later sold the business to Hecker and Walter Bush.
Quam called Hecker's disclosure "woefully short." Hecker has been similarly rebuked in federal court for failing to provide a full accounting of his assets.