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Updated: 06/17/2009 8:29 PM KSTP.com |
Felony fraud investigation launched against Hecker group
The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating consumer complaints against Denny Hecker Automotive Group that, if substantiated, could lead to charges of felony motor vehicle fraud. The State Patrol Motor Vehicle Crime Task Force said it has received dozens of complaints from consumers. Some come from car buyers who said they paid sales tax and title and license registration fees to the dealer, but never received their title or license plates. Trade-in customers also complained. They said, after they made the trade-in, they were contacted by their lender and learned that the trade-in had not been paid off. In some cases, consumers said both scenarios occurred. Some of these people were stuck with two car payments. The State Patrol started serving warrants at six locations Wednesday morning. Troopers, along with officers from other agencies, searched the Hecker Automotive Group corporate headquarters at 500 Ford Road in St. Louis Park. Yellow tape surround the building, and our 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS crew on the scene learned that Hecker was inside the building when officials arrived. Law enforcement agents also searched three homes--two in Medina and one in Cross Lake--owned by Hecker, as well as Southview Chevrolet in Inver Grove Heights and the now-closed Stillwater GMC-Cadillac in Oak Park Heights. Minnesota State Patrol Chief Col. Mark Dunaski said they were looking for electronic and hard copy records of vehicle sales and trade-ins. Dunaski said, so far, there are victims in 15 counties and he expects more to come forward. In order to field questions from potential victims, the State Patrol created a special hotline at 1 (800) 593-5000. "Based on the nature of the complaints we've received so far, we have reason to believe motor vehicle fraud may have occurred," Dunaski said. Under Minnesota law, it's a felony for a dealership to fail to pay the state the sales tax collected from vehicle sales. The crime carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $1,000 fine. Failing to pay off a lien on a vehicle trade is also a felony. It's punishable by a three-year prison term and a $6,000 fine. Dunaski handed out a copy of the Minnesota Statute 168A.11 'purchase of a vehicle by a dealer' at a news conference midday Wednesday. Item D of the statute states that 'the dealer shall mail or deliver the certificate to the registrar...with the transferee's application for a new certificate and appropriate taxes and fees, within 10 business days.' Statute 297B.10 item B was also distributed, which reads 'any person who collects the tax imposed under this chapter from a purchaser and willfully fails to remit the tax is guilty of a felony.' Dunaski added there has never been any known exception to the statute. He said there are no plans to make any arrests at this time, but admitted the investigation is still in its early phases. As far as he knows, there are no restrictions on Hecker's travel."This obviously comes as a surprise to everyone involved--Denny and the corporation," said Hecker's corporate attorney Marsh Halberg. "Denny and staff are cooperating entirely with everyone." Halberg said the investigators wanted to look at computers and have access to passwords and financial information. Morhman further said it's not Hecker's fault but GMAC—saying General Motors took over the Twin Cities auto dealer’s struggling empire in March. "Let me very clear. When the vehicles were sold, Hecker did not receive money from transaction. GMAC did," Morhman explained. GMAC released a statement late Wednesday, explaining that a "trade-in vehicle transaction is between the dealer and the customer. With respect to liens on trade-in vehicles not being satisfied, GMAC is not a party to those transactions and the dealer, not GMAC, has the responsibility to satisfy all liens." Even though Hecker is the target of the investigation, he has not been charged with any crime. The 56-year-old filed for personal bankruptcy protection earlier this month. According to court papers, he said he owes up to $1 billion to 1,000 creditors. He used to be one of Minnesota's largest car dealers, but he's closed or sold 25 of his 26 dealerships. The State Patrol received assistance in the investigation from the Washington County Sheriff's Office, the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office, Medina Police, St. Louis Park Police and Inver Grove Heights Police. The Drug Enforcement Administration helped the State Patrol execute the search warrants Wednesday. The Minnesota State Patrol Motor Vehicle Crime Task Force was created by legislation in 1998. It was set up to investigate crimes regarding the purchase, sale, registration, theft or other fraudulent acts relating to motor vehicles. |
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