SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah (Scripps News Salt Lake City/Court TV) — A Utah woman accused of killing her husband in 2022 is now facing several new fraud-related charges.
Kouri Richins sits with her attorneys in court before a scheduled hearing on Nov. 3, 2023. (Court TV)
On Monday, Kouri Richins was hit with two counts of mortgage fraud, two counts of insurance fraud, and three counts of forgery. The new charges were listed in documents obtained by Court TV.
Last year, she was charged with aggravated murder and other offenses in connection with the death of her husband, Eric Richins.
In the new charges, prosecutors allege that Richins applied for a mortgage in 2021, in which she claimed a balance of $210,898 in her credit union account. According to court documents, there was actually $15,609. The document further states when asked by a mortgage loan officer about her credit history in July 2021, Richins replied,
“I recently learned about all of this as well LOL and then my husband tried to explain
to me this was his doing a while ago.. (sic) We are in the process of separation for one of many
reasons but this is one of them to keep it short and sweet LOL… It’s been crazy to say the least!”
Under the second mortgage fraud charge, prosecutors allege another mortgage application for Richins claimed an account balance of $702,831.
She’s also accused of fraudulently applying for life insurance for her husband and forging his signature just over a month before he died, then fraudulently claiming the life insurance benefits.
Authorities say Richins murdered her husband by by putting five times the lethal dosage of illicit Fentanyl in his cocktail. After his death, she wrote and self-published a children’s book about grief for the three sons she shared with her late husband.
