Dem LA Councilman To Stand Trial On Felony Corruption | Headline USA
(Mark E. Johnson, Contributor) Days after a Los Angeles non-profit executive was arrested on federal charges of embezzling $10 million in funds intended to help the homeless, an L.A. city council member has been ordered to stand trial on felony public corruption charges of his own.
A state judge ruled that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to proceed against Councilmember Curren Price, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba ordered Price, a Democrat, to be tried on twelve felony counts, including embezzlement, conflict of interest, and perjury.
“This is a significant step toward holding L.A. Councilmember Curren Price accountable for years of alleged corruption,” 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 said.
Prosecutors allege the councilman voted on city projects that financially benefited his wife (corruption) and failed to disclose those conflicts on required state forms (perjury).
They also allege he directly pocketed $33,800 in city funds and used his position to direct more than $2 million in federal COVID-19 funds to a nonprofit organization where he was CEO.
Price has denied all charges against him. His arraignment is scheduled for March 13.
The city politician, who has held various public offices consecutively since 2006, was initially charged with five felony counts of embezzlement, two of conflict of interest, and three more of perjury.
The complaint was amended in August 2025 to add two more felony conflict of interest counts, based on his votes to award more than $800,000 in city funds to Price’s wife.
The District Attorney’s Office said if convicted, Price faces the possibility sentencing of 11 years and four months, including up to nine years and four months in state prison and up to two years in county jail.
It’s unknown whether there is a direct connection between Price’s alleged crimes and the charges filed last week against Los Angeles non-profit director Alexander Soofer, who is alleged to have spent $10 million in homeless funding on his lavish personal lifestyle. What is clear is that both got away with their alleged crimes for a substantial period of time, confident that city beancounters would not notice or care about their inappropriate use of public money.