14 months for woman who hid auto dealer's assets

A woman who helped bankrupt auto mogul Denny Hecker hide his assets was sentenced to 14 months in prison on Tuesday.

Christi Rowan, who married Hecker by phone last month, was also ordered to pay about $36,000 in restitution and serve five years of probation following her prison sentence, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

U.S. District Court Judge Joan Ericksen said Rowan deserved the maximum sentence because of the seriousness and brazenness of her actions.

Rowan pleaded guilty to bank fraud and bankruptcy fraud last year after admitting that she lied on a credit application to purchase an $86,000 Land Rover for Hecker two months before he filed for bankruptcy. Prosecutors say Rowan, 37, also spent thousands of dollars in gift cards that were supposed to be turned over to authorities.

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"It's mindboggling that somebody would take money that was in the custody of the court and the FBI," Ericksen said during sentencing.

Rowan's attorney, Janet Newberg, urged the judge to sentence her client to a minimum eight months.

"She's just made some very bad mistakes in the last couple of years," Newberg said. "It's our position that she is just the latest of Dennis Hecker's victims."

Hecker was sentenced to 10 years for bankruptcy fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Hecker, 58, once owned a string of auto dealerships, but filed for personal bankruptcy 21 months ago, owing $767 million.

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Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)