George Floyd murder suspect Derek Chauvin charged with evading taxes, ex cop with estranged wife may owe $38K
Former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, charged with George Floyd's murder, on Wednesday, July 22, was charged with multiple felony counts of tax evasion. Chauvin and Kellie May Chauvin, his estranged wife, are both accused of failing to file income tax returns and pay state income taxes since 2014, according to reports.
The fresh charges against the pair claim that they underreported and underpaid taxes on income earned from multiple jobs each year. The evasion also included nearly $96,000 the former cop earned in off-duty security work, according to the Star Tribune. The criminal complaint against the duo allege that, in total, they underreported over $460,000 in earnings and owe nearly $38,000 to the US government.
Four Minneapolis police officers allegedly involved in Floyd's death were fired on May 26 after a video of the incident went viral on social media. The footage showed Floyd pleading with officers as one of them, Chauvin, knelt on his neck while the 46-year-old told them to let him stand because he could not breathe. The clip showed Floyd pleading with the officer to allow him to breathe and a few minutes later he became unconscious. Floyd's death has sparked massive protests and unrest across the country. Chauvin, within days, was arrested and charged with murder.
The fresh complaints against Chauvin and Kellie allege that they also did not pay proper sales tax on a $100,230 BMW purchased in Minnesota in January 2018. The car was brought by the former couple in Minnetonka but registered in Florida, where they paid lower sales taxes for it, according to prosecutors. The BMW, for which the duo's due tax amount is $5,053, was serviced at least eleven times in Minnesota, not in Florida.
The pair were charged in Washington County with six counts of filing fraudulent tax returns for the tax years 2014 through 2019. According to the complaint, the Chauvins underreported their joint income by $464,433 between 2014 through 2019. The pair owe the government $21,853 in taxes, however, with charges and penalties applied, the total will come to about $37,868. The complaint states that Chauvin, between 2014 and 2019, would have earned between $52,000 and $72,000 as a police officer annually. While Kellie, during this period, worked as a real estate agent and ran a photography business. Beside his cop job, Chauvin also workers side jobs as an off-duty security guard at the El Nuevo Rodeo dance club, Cub Foods, Midtown Global Market and EME Antro Bar on E. Lake Street.
The former cop continues to remain in prison on $1.25 million bond pending trial, while Kellie — who filed for divorce after Floyd's death — is reportedly not in custody at the moment. An investigation into the Chauvins was launched by the Minnesota Department of Revenue and Oakdale Police Department in June, Washington County Attorney Pete Orput said. The attorney added that the Minnesota Department of Revenue officials contacted him in June after they discovered the Chauvins' records. "They were sending him letters last year' about the failure to file tax reports," he said, and they got no response."