Daily US Times: The former Minneapolis police officer who is accused of murdering African-American man George Floyd has been charged with multiple felony counts of tax evasion. Mr Derek Chauvin and his wife are accused of failing to report income from various jobs and now they allegedly owe nearly $38,000 (£30,000) to the state of Minnesota.
Mr Chauvin was filmed pressing his knee on Mr Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes before he died in May. The murder sparked a massive outrage across the nation and strong calls for police reform.
After the alleged murder, the police officer was fired from his job and now he faces charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. Three other officers, who were on the scene, were also fired and charged with aiding and abetting murder.
On Wednesday, Derek Chauvin and his estranged wife, Kellie Chauvin, were each charged in Washington County with six counts of aiding and abetting filing false or fraudulent tax returns and three counts of aiding and abetting failing to file state tax returns.
They both are accused of underreporting their joint income by $464,433 from 2014 to 2019. This includes money Mr Chauvin made doing off-duty weekend shifts at a restaurant and security work.
Prosecutor Imran Ali told the Associated Press news agency that the amount of unpaid taxes could increase as investigations against them continue.
Ms Chauvin is not in custody yet, but Mr Chauvin is already in jail in connection with Mr Floyd’s death. The Laos-born former Mrs Minnesota winner filed for divorce following the death of Mr Floyd.
County Attorney Pete Orput said in a statement that failure to file and pay taxes was “taking money from the pockets of citizens of Minnesota.”
He said: “Whether you are a prosecutor or police officer, or you are doctor or a realtor, no one is above the law.”
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