A new criminal investigation will determine whether fraudulent claimants — and those who enabled them — cashed in on LA County’s massive sex-abuse settlement
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has opened a criminal investigation into dozens, and possibly hundreds, of sex-abuse claims tied to the county’s historic $4.8 billion settlement. The inquiry targets individuals who allegedly filed bogus claims of childhood sexual abuse under a recent law that reopened the floodgates for litigation. NBC Los Angeles+1
The massive settlement, approved by the Board of Supervisors earlier this year, includes more than 11,000 participants who said they were abused in county-run facilities, including foster homes and juvenile probation centers. Hochman says some of these claims may have been fabricated entirely — “people that never suffered sexual abuse … looked at this potential settlement as a way to get some free money,” he told reporters. (NBC Los Angeles)
To encourage truth-tellers, the DA’s office is offering a form of partial immunity: individuals who voluntarily admit they filed false claims won’t have their own statements used against them in prosecution. But the amnesty does not extend to attorneys or medical professionals allegedly involved, according to DA statements. (Los Angeles Times)
The controversy has ignited outrage across local government. Critics say pay-to-file schemes, possibly involving law firms and claim recruiters, are exploiting both the system and real survivors. “They looked at this as an opportunity to personally profit … at the expense of real victims,” Hochman said.
The $4 billion payout is not the only settlement under scrutiny. The county recently approved another $828 million to resolve more claims, and Hochman’s office suggests the investigation could cover those as well.
For Hochman, the priority is clear: protect actual survivors and ensure the system isn’t abused. “False reporting of sexual abuse undermines our entire justice system … and is a grave disservice to actual victims,” he said.
As the DA’s probe unfolds, Los Angeles faces a reckoning not just over how to compensate past wrongs, but how to prevent future exploitation.
Anthony Gutierrez
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