--- title: Affluenza Teen's Mom Indicted on Money Laundering Charge description: Tonya Couch was indicted by a grand jury Thursday for helping her son flee to Mexico canonical: https://time.com/4349734/affluenza-teen-mom-indicted-ethan-tonya-couch/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-26T21:18:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:52:47.553Z article:section: U.S. og:title: 'Affluenza' Teen's Mom Indicted on Money Laundering Charge og:description: Tonya Couch was indicted by a grand jury for helping her son flee to Mexico og:url: https://time.com/4349734/affluenza-teen-mom-indicted-ethan-tonya-couch/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt627bab19a30ca032/698878998e06017b28464142/affluenza-teen-tonya-couch.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Tonya Couch appears in court in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, Jan. 8, 2016. The mother of Ethan Couch, who used an "affluenza" defense after killing people in a drunken-driving wreck appeared in court on a charge of hindering the apprehension of a felon. (R og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Affluenza' Teen's Mom Indicted on Money Laundering Charge twitter:description: Tonya Couch was indicted by a grand jury for helping her son flee to Mexico twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt627bab19a30ca032/698878998e06017b28464142/affluenza-teen-tonya-couch.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mother of 'Affluenza' Teen Indicted on Money Laundering Charge by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White May 26, 2016 9:18 PM CUT  Tonya Couch appears in court in Fort Worth, Tx., on Jan. 8, 2016. Tonya Couch appears in court in Fort Worth, Tx., on Jan. 8, 2016.Rodger Mallison—Star-Telegram/AP by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White May 26, 2016 9:18 PM CUT The mother of the [“affluenza teen”](http://time.com/4292326/affluenza-teen-jail-sentence/ "undefined") Ethan Couch was charged with aiding her son in his escape to Mexico last year. A grand jury Thursday [indicted](http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/05/26/affluenza-teens-mother-indicted-on-charges-including-money-laundering.html "undefined") Tonya Couch on charges including hindering apprehension and money laundering, according to a report by the Associated Press. Couch and her son were taken into custody in December after the two [fled to Mexico](http://time.com/4162865/affluenza-teen-ethan-couch-found-mexico-arrested/ "undefined") after a video surfaced online of her son drinking, which violated his probation. A judge ordered Couch [to serve nearly two years in jail](http://time.com/4292326/affluenza-teen-jail-sentence/ "undefined")—equal to consecutive 180-day sentences for each of the four people he killed in 2013 when he [drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people](http://time.com/89742/family-of-drunk-driving-affluenza-teen-will-pay-millions/ "undefined"). Couch, then 16, had a blood alcohol level some three times the legal limit during the crash. His mother spent nearly $150,000 trying to keep police from finding her son while they were on the run. A psychologist in the car crash trial determined that Ethan Couch suffered from [“affluenza,” a psychological affliction in wealthy young people.](http://time.com/4206296/affluenza-leopold-loeb/ "undefined") “If you hurt someone, say you’re sorry. In that family, if you hurt someone, send some money,” the psychologist said of the Couch family, according to Fox News. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4349734/affluenza-teen-mom-indicted-ethan-tonya-couch/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4349734/affluenza-teen-mom-indicted-ethan-tonya-couch/"},"headline":"Mother of 'Affluenza' Teen Indicted on Money Laundering Charge","datePublished":"2016-05-26T21:18:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:52:47.553Z","description":"Tonya Couch and her son fled to Mexico last year after he faced an apparent probation violation","url":"https://time.com/4349734/affluenza-teen-mom-indicted-ethan-tonya-couch/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt627bab19a30ca032/698878998e06017b28464142/affluenza-teen-tonya-couch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt627bab19a30ca032/698878998e06017b28464142/affluenza-teen-tonya-couch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tonya Couch appears in court in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, Jan. 8, 2016. 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