Former Auto Tycoon Is Denied Bankruptcy Discharge

May 14th, 2010 by Reed Allmand

It only happens in one out of every 10,000 bankruptcy cases nationwide; but Denny Hecker, the former auto mogul has been denied a bankruptcy discharge and has agreed to repay his remaining $400 million debt.  Hecker and his remaining bankruptcy attorney (one left the case due to lack of payment) decided against fighting for the bankruptcy discharge because he’s facing more serious issues such as federal charges of bankruptcy fraud that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.  Hecker filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in June 2009 because he was unable to repay loans he personally guaranteed. But when bankruptcy trustee Randall Seaver accused the auto tycoon of hiding assets and lying, the bankruptcy case took a sharp turn for the worse.

Seaver compiled a list of assets he said Hecker had concealed, including motorcycles, boats, trailers, golf carts, numerous luxury watches, $500 in travelers checks, a police interceptor vehicle, a handgun, boat docks and lifts worth more than $25,000, six first-class tickets to Hawaii, several club memberships, a 2008 Land Rover, and hundreds of dollars in $2 bills.

In a separate lawsuit, Seaver accused Rowan (Hecker’s girlfriend) of hiding assets and asked her to turn over to the estate numerous gifts — including a $30,000 Harrison K-9 guard dog. Rowan didn’t respond to the suit, and Kressel granted a default judgment, requiring her to pay $425,000 and turn over the items.

Hecker’s bankruptcy is a perfect illustration of how lying and hiding assets during bankruptcy is just not worth it.  Hecker’s bankruptcy discharge has been denied and he even lost his father-in-law to suicide after the bankruptcy trustee accused him of hiding assets on Hecker’s behalf.  In the end, Hecker is left with the loss of a loved one, a pending criminal case, the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison and eight luxury watches worth only $20,000.