George Floyd — Officer Involved In His Death, Derek Chauvin, Charged W/ Failure To Pay State Taxes

Derek Chauvin, George Floyd

George Floyd — Officer Involved In His Death, Derek Chauvin, Charged W/ Failure To Pay State Taxes

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd, is now facing more legal issues. Derek Chauvin along with his estranged wife Kellie were hit with nine felony charges each for failure to pay state taxes. They were also charged for counts of aiding and abetting the filing of false or fraudulent returns and additional counts for failing to file returns at all.

Court documents filed in Washington County, Minnesota claim the couple’s tax issues date back to 2014. They allegedly didn’t file for years 2016, 2017, and 2018. Investigators are claiming that the couple was significantly under-reporting their combined income. For example, prosecutors say Derek Chauvin was making tens of thousands of dollars on top of his police officer salary at MPD between side security jobs, one job where prosecutors estimate totaled upwards of $95k between 2014-2019 as well as other odd jobs.

Prosecutors are claiming that Kellie was making tens of thousands herself from realtor work and her photography business. None of the money was reported, according to the charging documents. Prosecutors also claim that Kellie and Derek talked about their tax issues on the phone back in June. They’re claiming Derek Chauvin told Kellie people were looking into their records, and allege Kellie responded she was meeting with someone about “2016 to now.”

If convicted, they face up to 5 years in prison.

Derek is currently facing second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the May 25 murder of George Floyd. He remains behind bars with his bail set at $1.25 million. He hasn’t entered a plea yet in the case. His estranged wife Kellie filed for divorce. That case is sealed for privacy and safety concerns.

What are your thoughts on Derek Chauvin and his wife being charged for tax evasion? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

Authored by: Chelsea Adjalla