Beverly Hills City Councilman's son granted diversion for impersonation crime

A son of Beverly Hills City Councilman Lester Friedman was granted a six-month diversion program that could result in the dismissal of a case in which he is charged with creating a fake social media account impersonating another City Council candidate.

Adam Friedman, 37, was ordered to perform 50 hours of community service with a non-profit organization as a result of the diversion program.

The judge did not order Friedman to make an apology, but welcomed one and said it could make her reconsider the requirement of community service hours.

Friedman was charged last July with one felony count of identity theft that was later reduced to a misdemeanor count, along with one misdemeanor count of internet/electronic impersonation.

The younger Friedman was accused of setting up a fake online account for City Council candidate Sharona Nazarian while his father was running for re-election.

The Beverly Hills Courier reported last year that the councilman denied that he had any connection to a fake Instagram account purportedly for Nazarian that included photos of District Attorney George Gason -- who was facing a recall effort at the time -- 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 2022.