If the government gets its way, Denny Hecker's co-defendant, Steven Leach, could be forced to forfeit $14.2 million in money and property in an effort to repay victims of his auto loan fraud, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Prosecutors last month had asked the court for $16.2 million in restitution, a figure Leach disputed, saying that Hecker alone benefited from the auto loan schemes and so should be made to pay more.
Prosecutors appear to be holding firm. In Tuesday's motion, the U.S. Attorney's Office asked the court to order a "money judgment forfeiture" of $14.2 million. They also asked for permission to search for additional assets Leach owned, so they could also be forfeited.
Leach's attorney, Robert Sicoli, told the Star Tribune his client "doesn't have anything even remotely close to $14 million" with which to pay restitution.
Leach, who will be sentenced to federal prison on Feb. 8, has a home in Burnsville and other property in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Tuesday, Sicoli informed the court in a filing that Leach also has a revocable trust at U.S. Bank and an IRA at Merrill Lynch. Sicoli declined to state the dollar amounts in those accounts, which have been frozen for months. In the filing, Sicoli and Leach asked the court not to seize the Merrill Lynch account, saying it had funds from other companies where he worked or that he owned.
Leach worked for Hecker for about 20 years and came to be the most-trusted executive of the fallen auto dealer. Leach earned about $1 million a year before he left Hecker's "Hecker Automotive" and Rosedale/Walden Leasing in December 2007.
Leach and Hecker were indicted a year ago. Leach pleaded guilty in October to falsifying documents and to helping Hecker defraud Chrysler Financial out of more than $13 million in auto loans. Leach faces up to 46 months in prison. Hecker, to be sentenced Feb. 11, faces up to 10 years.
