Kouri Richins, Charged With Killing Husband, Now Charged With 26 Financial Fraud Counts
Share this @internewscast.com

A Utah woman, accused of murdering her husband and subsequently authoring a children’s book about dealing with grief, has been charged with 26 additional felonies in Summit County court.

Kouri Richins, aged 34, is already facing charges for the murder of her 39-year-old husband, Eric Richins, in March 2022, and for a previous attempt on his life a month earlier. Her trial is scheduled for February 2026.

On Friday, prosecutors brought forward the new charges against Richins, including five counts of mortgage fraud, seven counts of money laundering, five counts of forgery, seven counts of issuing bad checks, and one count each of communications fraud and participating in a pattern of unlawful activity, as reported by KSL.

She was originally charged with some of the new counts, but a judge ruled that they should be dealt with in a separate trial. Prosecutors say the financial charges are all linked to her husband’s death.

Richins defense attorneys said the financial charges underscore “the weakness of the state’s pending murder charges.”

Prosecutors contend that Richins poisoned a cocktail she made for her husband and did so to gain permanent access to his finances. Charging documents filed on Friday say in 2019 she “used a power of attorney to obtain a $250,000 home equity line of credit on Eric Richins’ premarital home without his knowledge. … (She) used the proceeds from the HELOC to initially fund K. Richins Realty and hard money loans to finance its ongoing operations.”

Eric Richins learned of the deception a year later. It “was a source of tension between (Kouri) and Eric Richins. (She) informed Eric Richins that she would repay the loan and led Eric Richins to believe that she had repaid it. The HELOC was not paid off on the day of Eric Richins’ death,” the charges state.

Prosecutors say Kouri Richins’ realty company was under a “staggering and unserviceable debt load” by late 2021, and she was adding more debt.

“By that day, she had already defaulted on one loan and was delinquent on several others. She continued efforts to borrow from new high-interest lenders to meet her existing obligations. By the end of 2021, (she) stood on the precipice of total financial collapse,” the charges allege.

The documents say her realty company owed debtors nearly $5 million on the day after her husband’s death.

Kouri Richins “mistakenly believed” she was the beneficiary of her husband’s life insurance policies, but he had changed the document after discovering her deception.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Mother Charged After Child Tragically Dies in 107-Degree Parked Car

Inset left to right: Ariel Osbey and Imani Osbey (Alcovy Judicial Circuit…

Shocking Assault: Man Uses E-Bike Battery in Violent Attack on Woman, Police Report

Share In a shocking incident in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a man…

Disgraced MP Stripped of Seat and Freedom After Embezzling $435k in Public Funds

A former member of parliament, now disgraced, has been sentenced to a…

Dad Allegedly Instructed 6-Year-Old Daughter to Hit Classmate on School Bus, Police Report

Background: The 100 block of Frost Avenue in Ferguson, Missouri (Google Maps).…

Husband Allegedly Struck and Killed by Wife After Leaving Home

Inset: Alina Gonzalez-Morelos (Pasadena Police Department). Background: The sidewalk near where Gonzalez-Morelos…

30-Year-Old Woman Charged in Foiled $20 Million Cocaine Smuggling Operation

An Adelaide woman could face life in prison after being charged with…

DOJ’s Decision Pending: Evaluating the Approval of Trump’s Potential $230 Million Settlement

Then-candidate Donald Trump speaks with members of the media as attorney Todd…

Tragic Pool Accident: Two Young Brothers Drown, Urgent Safety Measures Highlighted

Share A Mississippi mother is under scrutiny following the tragic deaths of…

Jack Smith Debunks Phone Tapping Conspiracy: A Clear Rebuttal in Detailed Letter

Left: President Joe Biden speaks from the Roosevelt Room of the White…

Maternal Grandmother of Missing California Girl, Melodee Buzzard, Shares Her Perspective as Search Efforts Intensify

In a heartfelt plea, Lori Miranda, the grandmother of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard,…

Police Report: Son Shows No Remorse After Allegedly Killing Father Over $5,000 Debt

Alfred Juarez Jr. (KGET/YouTube). In a chilling case out of California, a…

Mother Finds Closure 27 Years Later: Confession Brings Justice for Slain Teen

The mother of a teenage boy who tragically lost his life during…