Additional Federal Counts Added to Indictment of Dennis Hecker and Co-Conspirator

Earlier today a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Dennis Earl Hecker, age 57, of Medina, and Steven Joseph Leach, age 54, of Burnsville, charging them with eight additional counts of wire fraud. Hecker was also charged with 10 counts of bankruptcy fraud. The new charges are added to the existing indictment filed last month alleging the defendants’ conspiracy and scheme to defraud financial lenders and others out of millions of dollars.

If convicted, Hecker and Leach face a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 20 years on each count of wire fraud. Hecker also faces 10 years in prison on the money laundering count and five years in prison on each bankruptcy fraud count. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Minnesota State Patrol, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicole A. Engisch and Nancy E. Brasel.