(MINNEAPOLIS) — The former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd is also facing multiple felony charges of tax evasion.
Derek Chauvin and his estranged wife, Kellie May Chauvin, were charged on Wednesday by Washington County prosecutors with failing to file their taxes since 2016 and filing fraudulent returns since 2014.
The couple, who have two homes in Oakdale, Minnesota, and one in Windermere, Florida, owe $37,868 in taxes and penalties, according to the criminal complaint.
Derek Chauvin is currently in custody at the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Oak Park Heights on $1.25 million bond following his arrest for the May 25 death of Floyd. He has entered a not guilty plea to the murder charges.
His attorney for the Floyd case, Eric Nelson, declined to comment to ABC News on Thursday about the tax evasion charges or confirm whether he would represent the couple in that case.
Chauvin, a 19-year law enforcement veteran, was seen on cellphone video pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck as Floyd lay on the ground struggling to breathe and calling for his mother.
Kellie May Chauvin filed for divorce after Derek Chauvin and three other Minneapolis officers were arrested on felony murder and manslaughter charges in Floyd’s death.
The Chauvins are now facing six counts each of filing false or fraudulent returns and three counts each of failure to file returns, according to court documents. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
“When you fail to fulfill the basic obligation to file and pay taxes, you are taking money from the pockets of citizens of Minnesota,” Washington County Attorney Pete Orput said in a statement. “Our office has and will continue to file these charges when presented. Whether you are a prosecutor or police officer, or you are a doctor or a realtor, no one is above the law.”
According to the complaint, the Minnesota Department of Revenue’s investigation into the Chauvins started on June 12 following multiple correspondences sent in 2019 by the department regarding their missing 2016 individual income tax return.
In addition to Derek Chauvin’s earnings from the Minneapolis Police Department, he worked since 2014 as an off-duty security guard at four businesses, the complaint said.
“D. Chauvin earned approximately $95,920.00 between January 2014 and December 2019 from El Nuevo Rodeo that the Chauvins did not report as income,” according to the complaint.
The 44-year-old also worked as a licensed Realtor for RE/MAX Results in 2017, earning $9,477.50 that was not reported, the complaint said.
Kellie May Chauvin, 45, has worked as a licensed Realtor for RE/MAX Results in Eden Prairie since 2016 but did not report that income, according to the complaint. She also operates a photography business under the name “KC Images,” for which she allegedly did not report her income in 2014 and 2015, according to the complaint.
She told investigators that she did not file income tax returns because “it got away from her,” according to the criminal complaint. Her father was their accountant for at least two tax seasons, the complaint said.
The couple allegedly purchased a 2018 BMW X5 in January 2018 for more than $100,000 and registered it under their address in Florida, where they allegedly avoided paying more than $5,000 in sales tax. Kellie May Chauvin allegedly told investigators last month that they changed their residency to Florida “because it was cheaper to register a car,” according to the criminal complaint.
A court date has not yet been set for the Chauvins’ arraignment, prosecutors confirmed to ABC News on Thursday.
Samara Heisz/iStockBy WILLIAM MANSELL and EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — The novel coronavirus pandemic has now killed more than 625,000 people worldwide.
Over 15.3 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their nations’ outbreaks.
The United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 3.9 million diagnosed cases and at least 143,701 deaths.
Here is how the news is developing Thursday. All times Eastern:
2:25 p.m.: Positivity rate up to 13.2% among young New Yorkers
New York is monitoring a rise in coronavirus cases among those ages 21 to 31 — the only age bracket in the state to see an increase.
New Yorkers in their 20s or early 30s now have a 13.2% positivity rate — up from 9.9% one week earlier, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.
Cuomo cautioned that the Albany area saw nearly 30 new positive cases linked to one 4th of July party.
Those traveling to New York from states with a positivity rate higher than 10% over a one-week average are required to self-quarantine when arriving in the Empire State.
1:50 p.m.: CDC predicts up to 175,000 deaths in US by Aug. 15
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the U.S. should anticipate between 160,000 and 175,000 total reported COVID-19 deaths by Aug. 15.
National and state-level ensemble forecasts suggest that the number of new U.S. deaths over the next four weeks will likely exceed the number reported over the last four weeks.
States with the greatest likelihood of a larger number of deaths include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.
12:20 p.m.: WHO director-general urges ‘young people to start a global movement for health’
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday urged “young people to start a global movement for health.”
“In recent years we’ve seen young people leading grassroots movements for climate change and racial equality,” Tedros said at a media briefing. “Now we need young people to start a global movement for health — for a world in which health is a human right, not a privilege.”
“We will not be going back to the ‘old normal.’ The pandemic has already changed the way we live our lives. Part of adjusting to the ‘new normal’ is finding ways to live our lives safely,” Tedros said. “We’re asking everyone to treat the decisions about where they go, what they do and who they meet with as life-and-death decisions — because they are. It may not be your life, but your choices could be the difference between life and death for someone you love, or for a complete stranger.”
There have been recent outbreaks linked to nightclubs and other social gatherings, Tedros said, stressing, “We all have a part to play in protecting ourselves and one another.”
Tedros urged people to follow these two guidelines.
“First, know your situation. Do you know how many cases were reported where you live yesterday? Do you know where to find that information?” he said.
“Second, do you know how to minimize your exposure? Are you being careful to keep at least 1 meter from others? Are you still cleaning your hands regularly? Are you following the advice of your local authorities?” Tedros said. “No matter where you live or how old you are, you can be a leader in your community, not just to defeat the pandemic, but to build back better.”
10:55 a.m.: Florida reports new daily death toll record
Florida’s Department of Health reported an increase of 173 coronavirus fatalities on Thursday — a new daily record.
The previous record was 156 fatalities on July 16. At least 5,632 people in Florida have now died from COVID-19, according to the state’s Department of Health.
As of Thursday morning, Florida’s hospitals had just 15.67% of adult ICU beds available, according to the state’s Agency for Healthcare Administration.
Four counties — Hernando, Monroe, Okeechobee and Putnam — had no available ICU beds, the agency said.
These numbers are expected to fluctuate throughout the day as hospitals and medical centers provide updates.
9:45 a.m.: Kids account for 1 in 10 cases in San Antonio, young adults causing spread in Washington state, FEMA says
Nationally, deaths in the last week are up 12.3% over the previous week, according to an internal FEMA memo obtained by ABC News.
In Texas, the positivity rate reached 19.2% — double the national average of 9%, the memo said.
In Bexar County, Texas, which includes San Antonio, children under 18 now account for 1 in 10 new cases, according to the FEMA memo.
Meanwhile, Washington state was in early stages of an exponential statewide outbreak as of July 17, according to the FEMA memo.
Washington state recorded 5,986 new cases in the week ending July 20 — a 25.5% increase from the week prior, the memo said.
Spread in Washington state is being driven by social gatherings and people in their 20s, the memo said.
9 a.m.: FEMA administrator downplays persistent PPE shortages
In an appearance on ABC News’ Good Morning America Thursday, Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Peter Gaynor tried to downplay persistent personal protection equipment (PPE) shortages and stressed that the U.S. is on stronger footing now than in March or April.
Gaynor admitted there “may be” some shortages and said gear may need to be moved around the country to surge resources to where they are needed most.
“There may be places that have high cases, high hospitalizations, that do have some shortages,” he said. “We’re in a much better place and we can move PPE from around the country to where it’s needed the most.”
When pressed about the doctors and nurses on the front lines without PPE, Gaynor responded, “If there is a hospital out there that does not have PPE, contact their state emergency manager, contact their state health director, and we will get PPE to you.”
Gaynor also attributed PPE challenges to the fact that the gear is largely manufactured outside the U.S.
With hurricane season approaching, Gaynor said FEMA is prepared to deal with the simultaneous threats of potential natural disasters on top of the pandemic.
“We’ve been at COVID-19 for months now. The agency has been up and running dealing with COVID-19. But we also have been preparing for the hurricane season. We knew it was coming,” Gaynor said.
He said guidance has been sent to hurricane-prone areas on how to adapt their response plans as they also deal with the virus.
8:20 a.m.: Over 10,000 health workers in Africa infected with COVID-19, WHO says
Over 10,000 health workers in Africa have been infected with COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Only 7.8% of Africa’s health care centers have isolation capacities and just a third have the capacity to triage patients.
Africa has reported more than 750,000 cases of COVID-19. At least 15,000 people have died.
South Africa is now among the worst-hit countries in the world. With 394,948 cases and 5,940 deaths, South Africa accounts for more than half of the continent’s diagnosed cases and ranks fifth behind the U.S., Brazil, India, and Russia.
7:16 a.m.: Flight attendant linked to Hawaiian Airlines COVID-19 cluster dies
A Hawaiian Airlines employee that recently contracted COVID-19 died this week, the company announced.
“I am very sad to report that one of our senior Los Angeles-based Flight Attendants, Jeff Kurtzman, passed away last night,” Hawaiian Airlines President & CEO Peter Ingram said in a statement. “He had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus in California earlier this month.”
A few weeks ago, the airline reported that a number of employees tested positive for the virus after a training session.
“We continue to follow up with members of our ‘ohana who are recovering from the coronavirus,” Ingram’s statement said. “We are reminded every day that this virus is serious and highly transmissible. We have strengthened the mandates and protocols governing how we interact with each other at our facilities, and I urge us all to continue to practice the utmost vigilance.”
Kurtzman was a senior Los Angeles-based flight attendant, and worked for Hawaiian Airlines since 1986.
04:49 a.m.: Trump says testing is ‘overrated’
In a week where President Donald Trump has been more vocal about wearing masks and saying the coronavirus will “get worse before it gets better,” he also continued to say Wednesday that coronavirus testing is “overrated,” but “he’s willing to keep doing it.”
Trump, in an interview with Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel that aired Wednesday night, implied that the increased testing makes the U.S. “look bad” and said, “I don’t mind looking bad if it’s a good thing.”
This comes as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country nears four million.
“To me, every time you test a case it gets reported in the news, we found more cases. If instead of 50 we did 25, we have half the number of cases. So I personally think it’s overrated, but I am totally willing to keep doing it,” Trump said during the interview.
In the U.S., deaths in the last week were up 12.3% over the previous week, according to an internal Federal Emergency Management Agency memo obtained by ABC News.
The memo also highlighted how some of the hardest-hit states, like Arizona, are facing tough choices to decide who gets care as hospitals run short on health care equipment and resources.
The mixed messaging this week continues as the president urged Americans to wear masks only to show up hours later at his Washington hotel at a fundraiser speaking to supporters without one.
During his interview with Siegel he said wearing masks “probably helps.”
“I don’t think it’s something that you have to do or should do,” he told FOX News. “But everyone around me has tested, so I’m not the perfect person to talk about it. But I believe that you should wear it, even if there’s a 1% chance it helps.”
Frederick M. Brown/Getty ImagesBy ELLA TORRES, ABC News
(ATLANTA) — Civil rights pioneer Rev. C.T. Vivian, known for helping end segregation in the South and his close allyship with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was laid to rest Thursday.
Vivian died last Friday at the age of 95.
His funeral began at 11 a.m. at the Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where he died.
He was remembered for his work that “helped forever change our nation,” presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden said in a video message.
Biden was one of a handful who spoke on Vivian’s legacy, also including his friends, family and Oprah Winfrey.
“In his presence, we were always learning more about our country, about ourselves,” Winfrey said in a video message.
Calling him a “giant for justice,” Winfrey said, “We are better because he existed.”
Vivian participated in the first sit-ins to end segregation in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1960 and led the first march of the Civil Rights movement. During the sit-ins, Vivian was joined by John Robert Lewis, a civil rights icon who went on to become a congressman, according to the History Makers. Lewis died last Friday at the age of 80.
In Birmingham, Vivian’s work helped to enact the Civil Rights Bill and in Selma; the Voting Rights Bill.
Prior to that, in Peoria, Illinois, he was part of the effort to end segregation at lunch counters and successfully integrated restaurants in the 1940s.
King later asked Vivian to join the executive staff of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where King was the first president, and the two organized the Freedom Riders.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 by former President Barack Obama. Vivian provided civil rights counsel to Obama, as well as former Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
His two sons, Mark E. Vivian and Al Vivian, also spoke — remembering Vivian not just as an icon, but their dad.
“How do you adequately say goodbye to the greatest person you have ever known,” Al Vivian said.
Mark E. Vivian said the greatest pleasure he had in life “was to call him dad.”
“I had somebody when I needed advice, when I needed looking up to, when I needed just to hear somebody say I love you,” he continued.
He and other family members also spoke about Vivian’s relationship with his late wife Octavia and how much he adored her.
Mark E. Vivian said, “the greatest thing” his father ever showed him was how to be a husband.
“How to love your wife, be there for here…That’s the person you pull your strength for,” he said.
His son concluded his remarks through tears, with a final message to his father: “All I can say I love you. Nothing better than you.”
JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty ImagesBy AARON KATERSKY and IVAN PEREIRA, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former attorney, will be released from federal prison and return to home confinement in Manhattan.
Cohen, serving a three-year sentence for violating campaign finance laws and lying to Congress, was ordered back to the federal facility in Otisville, New York, on July 9 after spending two months on furlough in home confinement. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said Cohen didn’t agree to a clause in his home confinement agreement that forbade him from speaking with the media, including through a book.
Cohen contended in a lawsuit that he was being retaliated against by the federal government, which objected to a tell-all book on his experiences with Trump that’s slated to be released soon.
Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein sided with Cohen on Thursday and ordered he be released.
“The purpose of transferring Mr. Cohen from furlough and home confinement to jail is retaliatory, and it’s retaliatory because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights and to publish a book,” Hellerstein said.
Cohen, who had been in solitary confinement, according to his lawsuit, must be released by Friday afternoon, the judge ordered. Hellerstein also said the conditions of Cohen’s home confinement will be renegotiated.
The Bureau of Prisons didn’t immediately return requests for comment from ABC News.
Cohen was one of several inmates released from federal prison in May after the Department of Justice raised concerns about COVID-19 in facilities. He was active on social media and teased the release of his book, which he said would include anecdotes of Trump using anti-Semitic and racist remarks. He also was photographed by the New York Post dining outdoors in early July.
The Bureau of Prisons previously said Cohen turned down the offer to remain at home in exchange for the media gag order, but Cohen contends he never made such an agreement and was taken into custody before he and his lawyer could negotiate terms.
Hellerstein blasted the federal government for issuing new guidelines to Cohen’s furlough and home confinement.
“How can I take any other inference but that it was retaliatory?” Hellerstein asked rhetorically during a hearing. “In 21 years of being a judge … I’ve never seen such a clause.”
“He was put on furlough with no conditions other than hang around your house and be in your neighborhood,” the judge added. “All of a sudden when the New York Post article comes out and the Bureau of Prisons understands he’s writing a book, and it’ll be finished by election time, they impose conditions.”
Danya Perry, Cohen’s attorney, said he would abide by the conditions laid out by the Bureau of Prisons once the requirement about media engagement was renegotiated.
“He wants to be able to edit and publish his book,” she said.
Two other recent books about the president have drawn legal challenges: The Room Where it Happened, by former national security adviser John Bolton, and Too Much and Never Enough, by Mary Trump, the president’s niece.
(NEW YORK) — There are three systems from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean that could threaten the U.S. with tropical rain and wind.
The most imminent storm is tropical depression eight, which is forecast to become Tropical Storm Hanna. It is forecast to bring heavy rain and flash flooding to Texas.
Because this storm is expected to become Tropical Storm Hanna in the next 24 hours, a tropical storm watch has been issued from Houston to Corpus Christi, Texas, and down to near the Mexican coast.
The system will be slow moving, so flash flooding will be the biggest threat in Texas and the west Gulf Coast. However, this weak storm system is not expected to be particularly strong and winds won’t be the biggest threat.
More than 6 inches of rain is possible in some areas.
Tropical Storm Gonzalo is currently packing winds at 65 mph as it heads east toward the eastern Caribbean islands.
It is expected to become a hurricane later Thursday and continue strengthening as it nears Grenada, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago by Saturday afternoon.
Hurricane force winds will reach near 80 mph with higher gusts possible. Flash flooding will be the biggest threat on these eastern Caribbean islands this weekend.
After that, it is still uncertain where Gonzalo will go from there and how strong it will be, but the latest path takes it south of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic Sunday night into Monday morning.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Douglas, a major Category 3 storm, is packing winds of 120 mph.
This is the first major hurricane of the season in the eastern Pacific.
It is expected to strengthen somewhat in the next 24 hours and then weaken as it heads for Hawaii.
The current Hurricane Douglas track takes the storm’s path toward Hawaii by Saturday night.
The biggest threat in Hawaii will be flash flooding and mudslides this weekend.
ABC NewsBY: CHRISTINA CARREGA
