Los Angeles City Councilman Karen Price made her first court appearance Thursday morning on charges of extorting thousands of dollars in health insurance premiums from the city and voting for a contract with a financial interest.

The 72-year-old Price sought a arraignment on grand theft charges for embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest until Aug. 28, a request granted by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Baker Guillemett. .

The veteran politician did not file a petition or speak to reporters gathered inside a courtroom in downtown Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Township Athi. Georges Gascon sued Price last month. According to the criminal complaint, the alleged embezzlement is about 34,000 medical benefits that he was ineligible for because he listed his current wife, Dell Richardson-Pryce, as his spouse on city documents from 2013 to 2017. It stems from suspicion of receiving dollars. Prosecutors allege that Price was still legally married to another woman at the time. Court records show that Price and Richardson-Pryce were not legally married until 2018.

Richardson Price, who accompanied her husband to Thursday’s hearing, refused to speak to reporters before her brief appearance in court.

In a written statement, Karen Price said she was grateful for the continuation.

“As I said in my complaint, I believe the charges filed by the Attorney General’s Office are wholly unjustified and the facts support that,” Price said. “I have always acted with integrity and professionalism, both in public and out.”

The Los Angeles County Deputy Mayor said the city council member remains released without bail. Athi. Casey Higgins asked Guilmet to set some conditions for his release on Thursday.

Higgins said Price must be formally apprehended and released by the police department, disclose any conflicts of interest, and have any future related to his wife or her former firm, Dell Richardson and Associates. must distance themselves from all parliamentary votes in Guilme accepted the terms.

After a hearing, Mr. Higgins said that if found guilty on all charges, Mr. Price could be sentenced to eight to 10 years in state prison, depending on whether prosecutors seek consecutive or simultaneous sentences. said it could be done.

Mr. Price has not provided a detailed response to the allegations. When asked about his marriage in 2017, he said he thought his divorce from his ex-wife was finalized and that he was legally married to Richardson-Pryce.

The conflict of interest count stems from allegations that between 2019 and 2021, Dell Richardson & Associates received more than $150,000 from companies founded or co-owned by property developers on projects prior to Price. is emitting.

In the criminal complaint, prosecutors allege that Price built two affordable housing projects in South Los Angeles and the West Side during periods when his wife’s consulting firm worked for developers on the same projects. Claimed to have voted in favor. Neither project was in Price’s district.

The perjury charges focus on allegations that Richardson-Pryce failed to list income received from these developers on his financial disclosure forms.

By the time he voted in favor of the two projects, Price was already under heavy scrutiny. The Times reported in April 2019 that Price voted on issues involving at least 10 companies listed in disclosure documents as providing income to his wife’s company.

A few months later, the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission opened an investigation against Price after receiving a complaint accusing him of voting for a project that generated his wife’s income in violation of conflicts of interest laws. The complaint was filed by Susan Hunter, a former community organizer for the Los Angeles Conservation Coalition, an organization backed by the Hollywood-based AIDS Medical Foundation that opposes the development project.

Hunter also accused Price of providing false information about his wife’s income in financial disclosure documents, according to FPPC documents obtained by The Times.

In June 2019, the FPPC sent a letter to Price and his wife informing them that it was investigating Hunter’s allegations. The agency said it would send a similar notice to Hunter. Hunter said in an interview this week that he was never contacted by the prosecutor’s office.

FPPC spokesman Jay Willenga said he could not confirm the letter’s link to criminal charges or whether his agent was cooperating with prosecutors. On Thursday, Higgins said the FPPC was aware of the allegations in the case and provided discovery. He declined to comment further on the link between the FPPC’s complaint and the Attorney’s Office lawsuit.

After the indictment, Mr. Price stopped attending city council meetings. He stepped down from the council’s second-highest leadership position, chairman pro tempore, and retired from all committee duties.

He continues to represent the Southern District of Los Angeles, most recently meeting with residents affected by the botched 2021 Los Angeles Police Department detonating caches of illegal fireworks in residential neighborhoods. Meanwhile, city council members are postponing a vote on whether to suspend him and deferring that decision. No later than August 25th.

Times staff writer Julia Wick contributed to this report.