In the 2020 murder of George Floyd, the former Minneapolis officer was convicted Friday. He pleaded guilty to two counts of tax evasion. He admitted that he did not file Minnesota income taxes for two consecutive years because of “financial worries.”
Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding or abetting, failing tax returns to the State of Minnesota for the 2016-2017 tax years.
Chauvin appeared before a Minnesota court via Zoom. He was serving his sentence in federal prison in Tucson (Arizona) on a state murder conviction and a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights.
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Before Friday’s hearing began, he stood in a room and looked around. He told Washington County Judge Sheridan Hawley that he had financial concerns and didn’t file Minnesota tax returns.
He added that he had to raise significant funds from his family to pay the previous year’s tax return. Since then, he has been playing catch-up.
Although he was sentenced to 13 month imprisonment for tax-related charges, he was already in prison for more than that time and was allowed credit for the time served.
Floyd died on May 25, 2020 after Chauvin (who is white) pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for nine minutes. Floyd, who was handcuffed repeatedly claimed that he couldn’t breathe. A bystander recorded Floyd’s killing and it sparked protests around the world.
Derek Chauvin was convicted in 2021 of George Floyd’s murder. He has pleaded guilty tax evasion charges.
Soon after Floyd’s death, Chauvin and his wife were accused of multiple charges for allegedly failing to file Minnesota tax returns and underreporting their income. According to the complaints, the Chauvins allegedly underreported their income from 2014 to 2019.
According to court documents, the state owes $37,868 to the Chauvins for unpaid taxes, interest, and fees.
After receiving information from the Minnesota Department of Revenue about suspicious filings made by Derek Chauvin, the tax investigation started in June 2020. After a cursory review by the agency, a formal investigation was opened.
In the end, the probe found that the Chauvins didn’t file state tax returns in 2016 or 2017, and also did not report their entire income for 2014 and 2015. The complaints stated that the Chauvins didn’t report all their income when tax returns for 2016 to 2019 were filed in June 2020.
According to the complaints, Chauvin was ordered to pay taxes on income earned from security work that he performed off-duty between 2014 and 2020. Investigators believe that he made $95,920 in six years at one job, but that this was not reported.
Kellie May Chauvin, his ex-wife, pleaded guilty to two counts each of aiding or abetting the failure to file 2016 and 2017 tax returns. The plea agreement provided for three years probation and restitution, with no more than 45 day of community service. All other charges were dropped. Hawley stated that she would be sentenced May 12.
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After Floyd’s death Kellie Chauvin filed for divorce. A judge approved the divorce last February under terms that were kept secret. An initial settlement proposal that would have given Kellie Chauvin most their property and money was rejected by the judge. This had fuelled speculation that the Chauvins were trying protect their assets.
The tax case documents stated that the couple had a second residence in Florida and they were also accused of failing to pay the proper sales tax for a $100,000 BMW they purchased in Minnesota in 2018.
Chauvin was convicted in 2021 of state murder and manslaughter and is currently serving 22 1/2 years. He pleaded guilty to the federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights. He was sentenced for 21 years. He is currently serving his sentence concurrently.
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Three additional officers were also convicted on federal charges for violating Floyd’s Rights. Two of the officers were also convicted on a state charge of aiding or abetting murder, while the third remains in custody awaiting a decision from a judge.
