Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who is serving a 22-year term for the murder of George Floyd, has pled guilty to tax evasion.
He pleaded to two counts of tax evasion after he and his now ex-wife unreported their tax liability from 2014 to 2019.
Chauvin received a 13-month jail term and was forced to pay reparations.
Floyd, an unarmed black man, was killed in May 2020, sparking nationwide outrage.
Soon after Floyd’s death, Chauvin and his ex-wife, Kellie May Chauvin, were accused with tax evasion.
She pled guilty to the same crimes last month and is scheduled to be punished to voluntary work in May.
In a virtual court from a federal jail in Tucson, Arizona, the discredited ex-officer submitted his plea on Friday.
Chauvin worked part-time government jobs in addition to his police career and neglected to submit to tax authorities approximately $95,000 (£78,000) in cash payments for the job.
Kelly Chauvin worked as a real estate agent and managed a photography company before filing for divorce after the murder allegations were published.
The charges relate to a time during which they were wedded and filed taxes jointly.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, officials became suspicious of tax evasion after speaking with Chauvin’s father, an accountant who completed his 2014-15 taxes.
One day since investigators took tax paperwork from Chauvin’s home, Kellie Chauvin phoned his spouse in jail to inform him that authorities were checking into their tax records.
Chauvin recommended they receive support from the individual “who we were able to manage for so many years”, the paper reported.
“Oh, but, we aren’t interested in getting your dad concerned because he’ll just be upset at me, I meant us, for failing to do them for decades,” she replied.
The investigation revealed that the Chauvins did not record all of their income in 2014 and 2015, and did not file any tax returns in 2016, 2017, or 2018.
The pair eventually failed to pay over $20,000 and were compelled to pay over $38,000 in reparation to state tax officials.
The term handed down on Friday will run simultaneously with the murder conviction, as well as Chauvin’s subsequent 20-year term for breaching Floyd’s human liberties during the murder.
