Judge rejects Derek Chauvin divorce filing due to possible fraud
The judge told the couple to submit a revised agreement with evidence of the amount of debt each of them has
According Fox9 KMSP, A Minnesota judge has rejected a divorce agreement between Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who was charged for the death of George Floyd in May, and his now estranged wife due to possible fraud.
Kellie Chavin, 45, filed for divorce in May, after Floyd’s highly publicized death, and once Chauvin had been charged for murder.
Washington County District Judge Juanita Freeman wrote that judges can reject an uncontested agreement if the “transfer features ‘badges of fraud,'” as reported by the Star Tribune.
Read More: Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin charged for murder of George Floyd
Attorneys speculated that the Chauvins were looking to protect their collective assets and questioned if the the divorce was simply being done out of convenience. Freeman didn’t explicitely accuse the couple of fraud.
“The Court has a duty to ensure that marriage dissolution agreements are fair and equitable. One badge of fraud is a party’s transfer of ‘substantially all’ of his or her assets,” Freeman wrote.
Kellie Chauvin’s attorney Amanda Mason-Sekula ignored The Associated Press’ request for a comment but in July told The Star Tribune she wasn’t at liberty to reveal details.
“I do not have authorization to provide details about how the Chauvin case is being handled procedurally,” Mason-Sekula said.
The details of the couple’s divorce agreement was heavily redacted in a document that was filed on Sept. 30. In the order filed on Oct. 26, the proposed agreement consisted of Chauvin’s wife receiving assets once owned by the couple including the equity in their homes, funds in the banks, investment accounts, as well as his pension and retirement accounts, Fox9 reports.
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The order directs the couple to submit a revised agreement with evidence of the amount of debt each of them has. Earlier this year, the couple was charged with tax fraud for failure to file several years of their income tax and under-reporting their net income dating back to 2014, Fox9 reported in September.
From 2014 to 2019, the couple underreported $464,433 in their joint income and owed $21,853 in taxes, The Star Tribune reported in September. With the accumulation of interest, late filing fees, and fraud penalties, they collectively owe $37,868.
The court documents highlight varied sources of incomes between the couple with Chauvin, 46, making between $52,000 and $72,000 per year as an officer. He worked as an off-duty security guard on the weekends at El Nuevo Rodeo dance club, Cub Foods, Midtown Global Marker, and EME Antro Bar.
Chauvin reportedly failed to pay taxes on the $96,000 income he earned at El Nuevo Rodeo, according to the investigation.
Kellie Chauvin worked as a real estate agent and owned a photography business. The business earned $66,472.96 that she didn’t report.
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