Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis cop who is facing murder charges in connection to the brutal police-involved killing of George Floyd, is now encountering additional legal issues after he and his estranged wife, Kellie, are facing felony tax evasion charges, WCCO reports.
Kellie Chauvin filed for divorce shortly after Floyd’s death, but, according to the report, the couple is accused of either not reporting or underreporting hundreds of thousands of dollars of income on at least five years’ worth of tax returns.
“They’re accused of not filing tax returns from the years of 2016, 2017 and 2018. The Chauvins did file returns in 2014 and 2015, but severely underreported the income in those returns,” Assistant County Attorney Scott Haldeman told the news station.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue had received some information about the Chauvins shortly after Floyd’s death, prompting an investigation, in which the couple’s Oakdale home, bank records and employers were all looked into.
Derek Chauvin worked sometimes as a security guard off duty, but in 2014 and 2015 did not report the additional income, according to the complaint. Kellie Chauvin also failed to report additional income from her own side jobs.
Additionally, once Kellie Chauvin learned about the investigation, she apparently tried to file returns for 2016, 2017 and 2018, but still excluded any additional income.
“It tells me that it was a willful act, and there was intention behind not filing these returns,” Haldeman claimed.
In all, the Chauvins allegedly underreported some $464,433 of income and owed the state $21,853. Now with penalties and interest, they owe $37,868, according to WCCO.