Ex-cop Derek Chauvin, convict of murdering George Floyd, and his ex-wife Kellie have pleaded not guilty to various tax evasion charges.
The case has been set for January 21 by Washington County District Judge Sheridan Hawley, who entered their not guilty pleas on Friday (November 5). A court hearing has not yet been set. At the hearing with Zoom, Chauvin was brought in from Oak Park Heights jail, where he is serving a 22-and-a-half-year sentence for Floyd’s murder
They were each charged with six counts of tax evasion or filing a fake return, as well as three counts of not filing a return.
In addition to underreporting $464,433 in joint income and owing a total of $21,853 in taxes, the Chauvins also underreported $95,000 in income earned from his off-duty security job. They owe $37,868 in total due to interest, late fees, and fraud penalties.
Additionally, the complaint states Kellie, who had filed for divorce following her husband’s murder charge, called Chauvin at the prison on June 26, 2020, informing him that their unfiled tax returns were under investigation. Apparently, Kelly told him that she was going to meet with a person “between now and 2024”. Chauvin suggested using “who we have been handling for many years.”
Kellie replied, “Well, we don’t want to involve your father, since he’ll be mad at me, I mean us for not doing them for so long.”
During the trial for Floyd’s death, Chauvin was found guilty of 2nd dgree manslaughter, 3rd dgree murder and 2nd degree unintended murder. Floyd, along with the ex-officers Thomas Lane, J. Kueng, and Tou Thao, are also being charged with federal civil rights violations related to the time he was pinned to the ground during his arrest last January. The former cops were additionally charged with failing to provide aid to Floyd while he begged for air. In the event of a conviction, the four men may receive up to ten years in prison.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
