Murder suspect Kouri Richins faces 26 new felony charges

PARK CITY — Kouri Darden Richins, slated to go on trial in February for allegedly killing her husband, is now facing a slew of new criminal charges.

Richins, 34, was charged Friday in Summit County’s 3rd District Court with five counts of mortgage fraud, seven counts of money laundering, one count of communications fraud and one count of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, all second-degree felonies; plus five counts of forgery and seven counts of issuing a bad check, third-degree felonies.

Original charges against Richins

The mother and real estate agent is charged with aggravated murder in the death of her husband, 39-year-old Eric Richins, in March 2022 and attempting to murder him a month earlier. Recently, a judge set jury selection for that case to begin on Feb. 10, 2026, with the trial beginning on Feb. 23.

She was also originally charged with two counts of mortgage fraud, a second-degree felony, and two counts of forgery, a third-degree felony. But a judge ruled those charges should be addressed in a separate trial. Now, she faces more than two dozen financial-related felony charges that prosecutors say tie into Eric Richins’ death.

Richins’ lawyer questions timing

Richins’ attorneys questioned the timing of the new charges.

“This sudden push to file new fraud charges over two years later underscores the weakness of the state’s pending murder charges, since these fraud charges would not even come into play unless they fail to secure a conviction. The timing is also extremely troubling in light of the fact that the parties are trying to seat an impartial jury in Summit County,” defense attorneys Kathy Nester and Wendy Lewis said in a statement Friday.

According to the charging documents filed Friday, in early 2019, Kouri Richins “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 home equity line of credit in October 2020, which prosecutors say “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 note in the charging documents that in the five months prior to Eric Richins’ death, K. Richins Reality was in debt.

“Despite K. Richins Realty’s existing debt and insufficient revenue, (Kouri Richins) continued to use hard money loans to purchase three additional properties in November 2021. When (she) closed on the three properties on Nov. 30, 2021, she added $1.1 million in high-interest debt to her already staggering and unserviceable debt load. 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.

On Dec. 23, 2021, Richins contracted to purchase an unfinished mansion in Midway “using $2.9 million in high-interest debt due in six months, even though she lacked the financial ability to service the additional debt, refinance the debt, rehabilitate the property, or otherwise dispose of the property,” the charges say. “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.”

At the time of his death, Eric Richins’ estate was worth approximately $5 million, according to prosecutors. He also had several life insurance policies, some of which Kouri Richins “mistakenly believed” she was the beneficiary of, the court documents state.

While applying for mortgage loans, Richins blamed others for her low credit score, according to the charges, including her husband and an unknown person in Seattle who she claimed stole her Social Security number.

Prosecutors contend that she engaged in a pattern of unlawful activity by falsifying an insurance application on Eric Richins’ life and by both killing and attempting to kill her husband on separate occasions for financial gain.