City Councilman Curren Price to be accused of fresh instances of corruption
In a recent development, L.A. City Councilman Curren Price is now facing 12 criminal counts, including grand theft by embezzlement, perjury, and violations of state conflict-of-interest laws. These new charges, filed in August 2025, are in addition to the original 10 counts announced in June 2023.
The expanded investigation has uncovered evidence of extensive pay-to-play dealings. Specifically, it is alleged that Price's wife, Del Richardson, was paid more than $800,000 by the city’s Housing Authority and LA Metro while Price voted in favor of awarding these agencies multimillion-dollar contracts.
Price is accused of voting on projects and contracts that financially benefited his wife's consulting firm, Del Richardson & Associates. Perjury charges are based on Price allegedly failing to disclose his wife's significant payments on official government forms. Embezzlement charges include accusations that Price improperly placed Richardson on his city-issued healthcare plan from 2013 to 2017, before they were legally married, costing the city about $33,000 in medical premiums.
Prosecutors also allege that Price authored a motion to give L.A. Metro $30 million, a time frame in which Richardson was paid over $200,000 by the transit agency.
Price’s attorney disputes the new charges, calling them an attempt to "pile on to a weak case," but a judge rejected motions to dismiss. Price is scheduled to face a preliminary hearing later in 2025.
The district stretches from the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown to 95th Street in South L.A. Many of the votes described in the criminal complaint were approved by an overwhelming majority of the council.
Price must leave office due to term limits at the end of 2026. However, several candidates have launched campaigns to replace him in his district.
The Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.
- The ongoing investigation in California, specifically Los Angeles, has found evidence of extensive 'pay-to-play' dealings involving City Councilman Curren Price and his wife, Del Richardson.
- Price is accused of embezzling funds from the city, including placing his wife on his city-issued healthcare plan and failing to disclose her significant payments on official government forms.
- The criminal charges against Price also extend to his involvement in politics and business, with allegations that he voted on projects and contracts that financially benefited his wife's consulting firm.
- As the general news of Price's legal troubles unfolds, other matters such as the race to replace him in his district and the ongoing business of Los Angeles' politics continue to be a part of the city's 'crime-and-justice' discourse.
