'Affluenza' Teen's Parents Paid for Fraction of One Rehab Program, Documents Show

Court documents reveal the fraction of the cost his parents would pay.

ByABC News
April 13, 2016, 6:39 PM

— -- Court documents indicate that "affluenza" teen Ethan Couch's parents were unable to pay for much of one of his court-ordered rehab programs, leaving most of the massive bill to be paid for by someone else.

This came after a psychologist that his defense team had hired testified during his trial that Couch was the product of "affluenza," an irresponsible lifestyle associated with his affluent upbringing.

Couch, who today was ordered to spend nearly two years behind bars by a judge who was re-evaluating his probation that stemmed from a fatal drunk driving accident in 2013, was first ordered to a state rehabilitation program for several months in 2014.

Starting in February 2014, he was ordered to stay at the North Texas State Hospital - Vernon AFP, which cost $673 per day, according to the documents, which were obtained by ABC affiliate WFAA.

Just two months into the program, Couch's parents filed documents claiming they were "financially unable to pay for treatment" at that rate.

Instead, they were only able to pay for $1,170 of treatment per month, which accounts for less than two days worth of treatment.

The documents do not specifically state when Couch entered or left the facility, but they do include a series of dates related to the case: the hearing when he was ordered to receive treatment at the North Texas facility was on Feb. 5, 2014 and then on Nov. 13, 2014, the document notes he was ordered to go to a different program in Amarillo, Tex. It is not known if Couch stayed in the North Texas facility continuously during that time period.

Treatment at that facility costs more than $20,000 per month, and if he did stay continuously between the two dates listed in the court documents, that would have cost upwards of $180,000. His parents would have paid $10,530 for nine months of treatment, meaning they would have paid less than 10 percent of the cost.

After that first treatment program, Couch was transferred to a facility called The Next Step Program in Amarillo.

That program cost $103.08 per day, and the court documents note that his parents were "financially able" to pay that amount. He was there until at least some point in February 2015, meaning that he was there for at least three months, which could have cost upwards of $9,000.

The attorneys for Fred and Tonya Couch did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment.

At a hearing today, when the judge was re-evaluating his probation in the adult court, Couch was ordered to spend 720 days in jail.