Kouri Richins faces 26 new financial crime charges as murder trial looms

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three, who wrote a children's book about coping with grief after her husband's death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a hearing Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Park City, Utah. Photo: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool

PARK CITY, Utah — Kouri Richins, the Park City mother of three awaiting trial in the high-profile murder case of her husband, now faces a new wave of legal trouble: 26 additional charges alleging financial crimes, including mortgage fraud, forgery, and money laundering.

The new charges, filed Friday in Summit County’s 3rd District Court, include 5 counts of mortgage fraud, 7 counts of money laundering, 5 counts of forgery and 7 counts of issuing a bad check among others.

According to court documents, Richins allegedly exploited her power of attorney to take out a $250,000 home equity line of credit on a property her husband, Eric Richins, owned prior to their marriage—without his knowledge. Prosecutors say the funds were funneled into K. Richins Realty, a company she created.

Investigators claim Eric Richins discovered the unauthorized loan in late 2020, and that Kouri assured him she would repay it. However, the line of credit reportedly remained unpaid when Eric died of a fentanyl overdose in March 2022.

In the months leading up to Eric’s death, prosecutors say K. Richins Realty was financially unstable, generating $170,000 in revenue while accumulating over $250,000 in monthly debt. The charges also describe an attempted real estate purchase in December 2021: an unfinished multimillion-dollar mansion. Prosecutors allege Richins agreed to buy the property using $2.9 million in debt that was scheduled to come due within six months, despite lacking the funds to repay, refinance, or renovate the home.

Notably, the closing date for the mansion was reportedly scheduled for the same day Eric Richins died, though records indicate it was delayed to the following day. By that point, charging documents state, her company’s debt had ballooned.

“On the day of Eric Richins’ death, K. Richins Realty owed hard money lenders at least $1.8 million; and the day after Eric Richins’ death, it owed them nearly $5 million,” charging documents read.

She originally faced two counts of mortgage fraud, a second-degree felony, and two counts of forgery, a third-degree felony. However, a judge later ruled those charges would be handled in a separate trial.

Kouri Richins’ murder trial is scheduled for February 2026. Prosecutors allege she killed her husband by slipping a fatal dose of fentanyl into a cocktail. Investigators also say she altered his life insurance policy prior to his death.

Richins’ legal team responded to the new charges, claiming the move reflects a lack of confidence in the state’s murder case. “This sudden push to file new fraud charges over two years later underscores the weakness of the State’s pending murder charges,” her attorneys said in a statement. “The timing is also extremely troubling in light of the fact that the parties are trying to seat an impartial jury in Summit County.”

Richins’s long-awaited trial will take place in Summit County, beginning with jury selection on February 10, 2026, and the trial itself on February 23, 2026.

Despite her defense team’s efforts to relocate the case due to widespread publicity—citing surveys showing that nearly 80% of Summit County residents are familiar with the case—both Third District Judge Richard Mrazik and the Utah Supreme Court ruled that an impartial jury could still be found locally. The decision clears the way for a full, five-week murder trial to proceed in Summit County.