Los Angeles District Lawyer George Gascón announced formal fees in opposition to Los Angeles Councilmember Curren Value Jr. on Tuesday. The fees embody 5 counts of embezzlement, three counts of perjury and two counts of battle of curiosity. The case is within the Superior Court docket for the State of California for the County of Los Angeles.
In line with the felony criminal complaint, the state fees Value with two counts of conflict of interest. The grievance alleges that Value entered into contracts whereas appearing in his official capability that he had a monetary curiosity in. These contracts paid cash on to a enterprise that Value’s spouse solely owned. Moreover, the grievance fees Value with perjury for failing to publicly report the funds, which may carry a most sentence of 4 years of imprisonment. Lastly, the grievance fees Value with grand theft by embezzlement of public funds. Grand theft is the results of over $950 of stolen property. The grievance avers that Value asserted that Delbra Richardson was his spouse whereas he was nonetheless married to Lynn Suzette Value. This led to public funds being paid to Richardson for medical advantages though she was not the partner of Value on the time of the funds from state funds.
In response to the grievance, Gascón said:
In the present day’s fees in opposition to Councilman Curren Value are the results of a radical investigation into allegations of public corruption. This alleged conduct undermines the integrity of our authorities and erodes the general public’s belief in our elected officers. We’ll proceed to work tirelessly to root out corruption in any respect ranges and maintain accountable those that betray the general public’s belief.
There may be nonetheless no arraignment date for Value on this case. Value shouldn’t be the primary LA county public official to be the topic of alleged corruption. Final yr a federal choose ruled in opposition to former LA Metropolis Councilman José Huizar, permitting the admission of proof collected from a 2016 FBI search warrant at Huizar’s trial for corruption-related fees.
