Ex-Councilman Gets 21 Months for Falsifying Loan Application
A former city councilman who pleaded guilty to bank fraud for falsifying information on a home loan application was sentenced Monday to 21 months in federal prison.
At the urging of federal prosecutors, U.S. District Judge Ronald S. Lew sentenced James Richman, 63, to the minimum prison term under federal sentencing guidelines.
He could have been sentenced to as much as 27 months behind bars after admitting he defrauded Western Federal Savings & Loan in Tarzana in connection with the purchase of a home in Bell Canyon in 1991.
Government lawyers said the one-term councilman submitted falsified tax returns to the Tarzana thrift and lied about the source of the money he intended to use for a down payment on the house. Richman served on the Burbank City Council from 1977 to 1981.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
