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AFP
Derek Chauvin and his separated wife are accused of failing to report earnings from various jobs
The former Minneapolis police officer accused of murdering the African-American man George Floyd has been charged with multiple felony tax evasion offenses.
Mr. Chauvin and his wife are accused of failing to report the earnings from various jobs, and they allegedly owe almost $ 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.
Floyd’s death sparked worldwide protests and calls for police reform.
Chauvin was fired from his job in May and now faces murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. Three other officers were also fired and accused of aiding and abetting the murder.
Chauvin and his separated wife, Kellie Chauvin, were charged Wednesday in Washington County with six counts of aiding and abetting the filing of false or fraudulent tax returns and three counts of aiding and abetting not filing tax returns. state.
They are accused of failing to report their joint earnings of $ 464,433 from 2014 to 2019. This includes money Mr. Chauvin earned doing off-duty security work and weekend shifts at a restaurant.
Prosecutor Imran Ali told the Associated Press news agency that the amount of unpaid taxes could increase as investigations continue.
Chauvin is already in jail in connection with Floyd’s death. Ms. Chauvin, who filed for divorce, is not in custody.
In a statement, County Attorney Pete Orput said that failure to file and pay taxes was “taking money out of the pockets of Minnesota citizens.”
“If you are a prosecutor or a police officer, or if you are a doctor or a real estate agent, no one is above the law,” he said.
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