Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, and his ex-wife Kellie have pleaded not guilty to several tax evasion charges.
On Friday (Nov. 5), Washington County District Judge Sheridan Hawley entered their not guilty pleas and set the next court hearing for Jan. 21. A trial date has not been scheduled. Chauvin appeared at the hearing via Zoom from prison at Oak Park Heights, where he is currently serving 22 and a half years behind bars for Floyd’s death.
As REVOLT previously reported, the Chauvins were each charged with six counts of aiding and abetting taxes or filing fraudulent returns and three counts of failing to file tax returns.
According to the complaint, from 2014 to 2019, the Chauvins “underreported $464,433 in joint income and owed a total of $21,853 in taxes,” including $95,000 that the former cop made from his off-duty security job. With interests, late filings and fraud penalties, they owe $37,868.
The complaint also states that on June 26, 2020, Kellie, who filed for divorce once her husband was charged with murder, called Chauvin at the prison and told him that their unfiled tax returns were being investigated. Kellie reportedly told him that she was going to meet with someone about “[20]16 to now.” Chauvin then proposed that they use “who we have used to handle for many years.”
“Yeah, well, we don’t want to get your dad involved, because he will just be mad at me, I mean us, not doing them for years,” Kellie responded.
Back in April, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for his involvement in Floyd’s death. He — along with ex-officers Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao — are also facing federal charges for violating Floyd’s civil rights when he was pinned to the ground for more than nine minutes last year. Additionally, the former cops were indicted for failing to render aid to Floyd as he begged to breathe. If convicted, the four men could face up to 10 years in jail.