Dem LA councilman to stand trial on felony corruption charges, judge rules
A sitting Los Angeles city council member will stand trial on felony public corruption charges after a judge ruled that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to proceed, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba ordered Curren Price, a Democrat representing the city’s 9th District, to answer to all 12 felony counts, including embezzlement of government funds, conflict of interest, and perjury, following a six-day preliminary hearing.
"This is a significant step toward holding L.A. Councilmember Curren Price accountable for years of alleged corruption," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement.
"Our Public Integrity Division has been prepared to go to trial since the charges were originally filed. The rules are clear: elected officials cannot enrich themselves at the expense of their constituents, cannot lie on disclosure forms, and cannot vote on matters in which they have a conflict of interest," he added.
CALIFORNIA MAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STEALING MILLIONS IN HOMELESS FUNDS
Price’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Prosecutors allege the councilman improperly voted on city projects that financially benefited his wife and failed to disclose those conflicts on required state forms.
They also say he embezzled approximately $33,800 in city funds from 2013 to 2017 and used his position in city government to award city lease agreements and more than $2 million in federal COVID-19 grants to the nonprofit Home at Last, a paying tenant of Urban Healthcare Project, where Price served as CEO at the time of the votes.
FORMER GAVIN NEWSOM CHIEF OF STAFF CHARGED IN $225K FRAUD AND CORRUPTION SCHEME, DOJ SAYS
Price has denied any wrongdoing, and his arraignment is scheduled for March 13.
The city council member was initially charged in 2023 with five felony counts of embezzlement of government funds, two felony counts of conflict of interest and three felony counts of perjury.
An amended complaint filed in August 2025 added two more felony conflict of interest counts, alleging that the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles and LA Metro paid Price’s wife more than $800,000 while he voted to award the agencies multimillion-dollar contracts.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said if convicted, Price faces a maximum sentence of 11 years and four month, including up to nine years and four months in state prison and up to two years in county jail.