A Minnesota appellate court ruled Monday that Tamitha Hecker is not entitled to retirement funds that once belonged to her ex-husband Denny Hecker, a former auto dealer serving 10 years in federal prison for fraud.
Instead, the $72,212 was awarded to Chrysler Financial Corp., to which Denny Hecker owed $476 million when he filed for bankruptcy in 2009.
Also Monday, one of Denny Hecker's attorneys said that his client was moved in December from the general population at the Duluth Federal Prison Camp into a housing unit that is more like solitary confinement.
"It's like a real jail," said attorney BrianToder. "He doesn't get to go out and mingle with anybody else. ... Before that he had a great schedule. He was up in the morning and played raquetball, he played tennis. ... He had a job working in the library. He had a lot of great friends there. ... The visiting area had a festive atmosphere. You wouldn't think it was a prison."
Hecker also has been led to believe that he will be moved out of the camp and into another federal prison, Toder said.
"The rumor is that it will be real soon," he said. "He hasn't been told why. There's a rumor that the Department of Justice thinks he's a flight risk."
According to court documents, the Heckers were amid a contentious divorce in September 2009 when he illegally liquidated and spent funds from the retirement account, then worth $125,000.
After the divorce became final in December 2009, a family court judge ordered him to repay the funds or risk being jailed for contempt of court. A female friend of Hecker's put up the money, which was turned over to a district court administrator. After attorneys' fees, $72,212 was left. Chrysler Financial filed claim for the remaining funds on May 3, 2010.
