Son of Beverly Hills councilman pleads not guilty to impersonating council candidate

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - A son of Beverly Hills City Councilman Lester Friedman pleaded not guilty Monday to two criminal counts for allegedly creating a fake social media account impersonating another City Council candidate.

Adam Friedman, 37, was charged last week with one felony count of identity theft and one misdemeanor count of internet/electronic impersonation, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

The younger Friedman is accused in April of setting up a fake online account for City Council candidate Sharona Nazarian while his father was running for re-election, according to the District Attorney's Office.

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The Beverly Hills Courier reported last month that the councilman denied that he had any connection to a fake Instagram account purportedly for Nazarian that included photos of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón — who is facing a recall effort — along with captions including, "This man is a hero and doing wonderful things for the City of Beverly Hills and humanity!"

The councilman told the newspaper then that he and his campaign were "fully cooperating with the investigation."

Lester Friedman, who was first elected to the city council in 2017 and served as mayor in 2020, and Nazarian both won their election bids in June. The two were sworn in along with re-elected Councilman John Mirisch last Tuesday.