Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of the murder of George Floyd, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of tax evasion in 2016 and 2017.
The disgraced former police officer, who is currently serving time for the 2020 murder of Floyd, pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting, and did not file tax returns with the state of Minnesota.
He appeared in court Friday morning from a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona via Zoom.
“The real reason,” Chauvin told Washington County Judge Sheridan Hawle, “is some financial concerns at the time.”
Prosecutors say Chauvin and his then-wife Kellie May Chauvin did not file Minnesota tax returns and reported less than $464,433 of their joint income between 2014 and 2019, including more than $95,000 he allegedly earned while working as an off-duty security guard.
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Hawley sentenced Chauvin to 13 months in prison and ordered him to pay $37,686 in restitution. However, the prison sentence has already been served, since the judge allowed it to elapse simultaneously with the time he is already serving.
Chauvin was sentenced in 2021 to 22 and a half years for Floyd’s murder. He was later sentenced to 21 years for violating Floyd’s civil rights. The two sentences are also executed simultaneously.
His ex-wife, who now lives in Wisconsin, pleaded guilty on February 24 to two counts of aiding and abetting, and filed no taxes. She is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
He Ex-partner’s tax investigation began in June 2020, shortly after Floyd’s death, after the Minnesota Department of Revenue received information about the suspicious files.
Chauvin, who is white, was caught on video pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as the 46-year-old black man called for help.
Floyd, who was handcuffed at the time, lost consciousness and died. His murder ignited protests against racial injustice and police brutality around the world.
with cable news services
