Most claims in nearly $5 billion LA County child sex abuse settlements potentially fraudulent, DA says

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said a vast majority of claims in the child sexual abuse settlements against Los Angeles County were potentially fraudulent, according to court documents filed on Wednesday. 

Hochman urged a court to pause payments for the nearly $5 billion settlements, believing that as much as 81% of the claims were fraudulent. 

"This intervention is critical to safeguarding the rights of the legitimate child abuse survivors, including preserving the integrity of the settlement process," he said. "It will also help ensure that individuals who have allegedly filed fraudulent claims are held accountable for exploiting the horrific abuse and trauma experienced by genuine survivors."  

The hearing to address his motion to halt the payments is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on June 15. 

"Given the structure of the settlement, identifying and excluding ineligible claimants would ensure that those who are rightfully entitled to compensation receive a larger share of the settlement," Hochman said. 

Between April and October 2025, the LA County Board of Supervisors approved two agreements worth $4.8 billion to settle more than 11,000 childhood sexual abuse cases. The settlements stem from allegations that staff at county juvenile and foster care facilities sexually abused thousands of children, with some cases dating back to 1959, with the majority of claims happening in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. 

Attorneys were able to file the claims decades after the alleged abuse following the implementation of Assembly Bill 218, which gave victims of childhood sexual abuse an increased amount of time to sue their abusers, even after the statute of limitations had expired.

At the time of the first agreement in April 2025, one of the attorneys for the victims called the $4 billion settlement "a societal recognition that a horrible wrong has been committed and compensation is justified."  

"This landmark settlement represents restorative justice for victims," Patrick McNicholas said in April 2025. "By balancing justice for the victims with a commitment to reform, this resolution ensures both acknowledgment of past wrongs and a pathway to a safer, more accountable future."

Allegations of fraudulent claims began to surface by the time of the second settlement, which was worth $828 million. County Supervisors urged that every individual case from both settlements should be carefully reviewed. 

"The system created by AB 218 is inherently vulnerable to fraud, but the county established fraud protections from the beginning of the settlement discussions and has now strengthened the review process to further ensure that money goes only to the true victims of abuse," Barger said last year. "Our settlements balance our obligation to compensate victims and treat their experiences with compassion with the need to put strong protections in place to protect taxpayers from fraud."  

Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport cited the multi-billion-dollar settlements as one of the "mounting financial challenges" that led to $88.9 million in budget cuts.

"We are in uncharted territory with these simultaneous pressures on our budget," Davenport said in April 2025. "Any of these alone would be daunting, but taken together these challenges—the wildfires, the AB 218 settlement, the threat of deep cuts in federal funding—are cause for great concern."