Mother of ‘Affluenza’ Teen Indicted on Money Laundering Charge

The mother of the “affluenza teen” Ethan Couch was charged with aiding her son in his escape to Mexico last year.

A grand jury Thursday indicted 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 after a video surfaced online of her son drinking, which violated his probation.

A judge ordered Couch to serve nearly two years in jail—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. 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.

“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.