Dem LA councilman faces corruption charges after allegedly voting on projects he had financial interest in, collecting medical benefits for woman while still married to someone else

Authorities announced on Tuesday that Democratic Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price is facing multiple corruption charges, the Los Angeles Times reported.

According to the criminal complaint, Price was charged with five counts of grand theft by embezzlement, three counts of perjury, and two counts of conflict of interest.

Price is now the fourth Los Angeles current or former council member to face criminal charges in the last four years.

After serving on L.A. City Council for 10 years, Price was accused of voting on development projects in which he had a financial interest and collecting medical benefits for his now-wife while he was still married to his former wife, according to a statement released by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.

Gascón alleged that Price’s wife, Del Richardson Price, operated a consulting company that collected “payments totaling more than $150,000 between 2019 and 2021 from developers before he voted to approve projects.”

Price was charged with perjury for allegedly failing to disclose the income that his wife received on government financial disclosure forms.

The complaint alleged that Richardson Price’s consulting firm received approximately $35,000 in 2019 from a company incorporated by developer Thomas Safran & Associates. Price later voted to fund a $4.6 million real estate project involving the company.

Safran told the Times, “I don’t know anything about it. I do know Del Richardson.”

Price was accused of receiving about $33,000 in medical premiums for Del Richardson from 2013 to 2017, despite being legally married to Lynn Suzette Green at the time.

“This alleged conduct undermines the integrity of our government and erodes the public’s trust in our elected officials,” Gascón said.

Price announced that he would be stepping down from his position following the charges but did not explicitly confirm that he would give up his seat.

In a letter to City Council President Paul Krekorian, Price wrote, “While I navigate through the judicial system to defend my name against unwarranted charges filed against me, the last thing I want to do is be a distraction to the people’s business.”

Krekorian announced that he plans to move to suspend Price.

Richardson Price did not reply to a request for comment, the Times reported.

In an official statement, Price’s office said, “We have not seen the charges filed against Councilmember Curren Price. It’s highly unusual for charges like this to be brought up against a sitting City Councilmember without any prior notice or discussion.”

“Curren Price is a long-standing public servant who has given his life to the City of Los Angeles. He looks forward to defending himself once he’s had an opportunity to address these charges,” his office added.

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