Derek Chauvin has admitted he hid tens of thousands of dollars from the state.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the killing of George Floyd, pleaded guilty Friday to tax evasion in Minnesota, according to reports bbc. The man admitted he hid tens of thousands of dollars from the state.
according to a report NBC, Chauvin pleaded guilty in Minnesota court to Washington County Judge Sheridan Hawley on two counts of tax evasion. He was sentenced to 13 months in prison, according to a spokesman for the county prosecutor’s office.
In May 2020, the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, sparked massive protests across the United States. The murder was captured on video and sparked civil rights protests across the United States.
Shortly after Floyd’s death, Chavin and his ex-wife, Kellie May Chauvin, were charged with tax crimes. She pleaded guilty to the same charge last month and is expected to be sentenced to community service at a hearing in May, the BBC reported. The former Minneapolis police officer made his plea Friday at a virtual hearing at the federal prison in Tucson, Arizona.
From 2014 to 2019, he paid no taxes on $464,433 in joint income, including $95,000 he earned as an off-duty security guard.
Kelly Chauvin, who worked as a real estate agent and ran a photography business, has filed for divorce after murder charges were announced.
In total, officials told NBC they owe the state $37,868, which includes unpaid taxes, interest and fees.
Officials became suspicious of tax fraud after interviewing Chauvin’s father, an accountant who prepared his 2014-15 taxes, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.
According to the paper, Chauvin advised them to seek help from “people we have dealt with over the years.”
Chauvin, who is white, pleaded guilty in December 2021 to violating the civil rights of Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was arrested in May 2020 for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy a pack of cigarettes.
Chauvin is serving 22-and-a-half years after being convicted of state murder in Floyd’s death, which has sparked protests against racial injustice and police brutality across the United States.
Chauvin also pleaded guilty in another case to violating the constitutional rights of a 14-year-old boy.
During that 2017 incident, Chauvin pinned the handcuffed boy face down to the ground and hit him on the head multiple times with a flashlight.
