Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced formal charges against Los Angeles Councilmember Curren Price Jr. on Tuesday. The charges include five counts of embezzlement, three counts of perjury and two counts of conflict of interest. The case is in the Superior Court for the State of California for the County of Los Angeles. 

According to the felony criminal complaint, the state charges Price with two counts of conflict of interest. The complaint alleges that Price entered into contracts while acting in his official capacity that he had a financial interest in. These contracts paid money directly to a business that Price’s wife solely owned. Additionally, the complaint charges Price with perjury for failing to publicly report the payments, which can carry a maximum sentence of four years of imprisonment. Lastly, the complaint charges Price with grand theft by embezzlement of public funds. Grand theft is the result of over $950 of stolen property. The complaint avers that Price asserted that Delbra Richardson was his wife while he was still married to Lynn Suzette Price. This led to public funds being paid to Richardson for medical benefits even though she was not the spouse of Price at the time of the payments from state funds.

In response to the complaint, Gascón stated:

Today’s charges against Councilman Curren Price are the result of a thorough investigation into allegations of public corruption. This alleged conduct undermines the integrity of our government and erodes the public’s trust in our elected officials. We will continue to work tirelessly to root out corruption at all levels and hold accountable those who betray the public’s trust.

There is still no arraignment date for Price in this case. Price is not the first LA county public official to be the subject of alleged corruption. Last year a federal judge ruled against former LA City Councilman José Huizar, allowing the admission of evidence collected from a 2016 FBI search warrant at Huizar’s trial for corruption-related charges.