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Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin who was convicted of the murder of George Floyd tried to transfer most of his assets to ex-wife Kellie during their divorce. However, the move was blocked by a judge who wrote at the time that the transfer of most assets to one party could be a “badge of fraud.”
Kellie Chauvin filed for divorce two days after her husband was charged with killing George Floyd on May 25, 2020, raising suspicions that this was a strategic move to protect the couple’s assets from civil litigation.
Two months later, Floyd’s family filed a federal lawsuit against Chauvin, as well as the city of Minneapolis and the officer’s three former colleagues who assisted in Floyd’s arrest: Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao.
Derek and Kelly Chauvin are also both facing nine counts of tax evasion charges and facing a trial after the Washington County Attorney’s Office charged the then-married couple with failing to report $464,433 in joint income dating back to 2014. They are set to face trial for those charges on June 30, 2021.
While details of that first proposed divorce settlement weren’t public, Washington County District Judge Juanita Freeman wrote that Kellie Chauvin would have received all equity in the couple’s two homes, all the money in their bank and investment accounts and all the money from Derek Chauvin’s pension and retirement accounts.
Im October, Judge Freeman rejected the proposal saying,
“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.”
Legal experts said the judge’s rejection of that proposal added to speculation that the Chauvins were trying to protect their assets.
After the judge rejected the first proposed divorce settlement Kellie Chauvin’s attorney, Amanda Mason-Sekula filed a new proposed divorce settlement.
Under the new proposed divorce settlement, Kellie Chauvin would be awarded about two-thirds of the couple’s assets
According to the Star, A detailed division of their two homes, multiple bank accounts and debts show that Kellie Chauvin would receive $703,717.69 while Derek Chauvin would receive $420,768.22.
In February, Judge Freeman approved a divorce settlement between the disgraced former Minneapolis police officer and his wife after under secret terms.
The divorce order was issued under seal after Judge Freeman ordered redaction in the divorce case because of harassment and financial fraud allegations against the pair.
Unless a judge approves a parties’ request to seal the related documents, most divorces and their settlements are public record.
It is unknown how the divorce settlement compares to the previous settlement which was filed in December which sought to give Kelly 67 percent of the couple’s assets.
During the divorce, Kellie also said that she would be changing her name for her own safety and to ensure that she can look for new employment without the stigma of the Chauvin name.
