Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba ordered Councilmember Curren Price to stand trial on 12 felony counts, including embezzlement, conflict of interest and perjury, after a six-day preliminary hearing. Prosecutors allege Price steered city leases and more than $2 million in federal COVID-19 grants to a nonprofit tenant of Urban Healthcare Project while he served as its CEO and embezzled roughly $33,800 from 2013 to 2017. An amended complaint also alleges two agencies paid his wife over $800,000 as he voted on multimillion-dollar contracts. Price denies wrongdoing; his arraignment is set for March 13.
L.A. Councilmember Curren Price Ordered To Stand Trial On 12 Felony Counts
Dem LA councilman to stand trial on felony corruption charges, judge rules
A Los Angeles city councilmember will face trial on a dozen felony public corruption charges after a judge ruled prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to proceed, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Curren Price attends a court hearing at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 16, 2025.(Getty Images)
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba found that Councilmember Curren Price, a Democrat who represents the city’s 9th District, must answer to all 12 felony counts following a six-day preliminary hearing. The charges include embezzlement of government funds, conflict of interest and perjury.
The City Hall office of Curren Price on June 23, 2023, in Los Angeles.
"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. "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."
Prosecutors allege Price cast votes on city projects that financially benefited his wife and failed to disclose those conflicts on required state forms. They say he embezzled approximately $33,800 in city funds between 2013 and 2017 and used his city position to steer city lease agreements and more than $2 million in federal COVID-19 relief grants to the nonprofit Home at Last. That nonprofit was a paying tenant of Urban Healthcare Project, where Price was serving as CEO at the time of the votes, prosecutors say.
Curren Price speaks during a Los Angeles City Council meeting at City Hall on June 13, 2023.
An amended complaint filed in August 2025 added two additional felony conflict-of-interest counts, alleging 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 those agencies multimillion-dollar contracts.
Price has denied any wrongdoing. His office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. His arraignment is scheduled for March 13.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said that if convicted on all counts, Price faces a maximum sentence 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. These are allegations; the charges have not been proven in court and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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