By Angelica C. Gualpa
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced yesterday that his office has started an investigation into claims that plaintiffs made up stories of abuse to sue the county, which agreed to the historic $4-billion sex abuse settlement this spring.
The announcement follows a Los Angeles Times investigation that found nine people who said recruiters paid them small amounts of cash to sue the county for sex abuse in juvenile halls. Four of them said they fabricated the claims.
“False reporting of sexual abuse undermines our entire justice system and is a grave disservice to actual victims who have already suffered unspeakable trauma,” said Hochman. “My Office is taking the allegations seriously that some individuals were paid cash to have law firms file false sexual abuse claims against the County. This is criminal conduct that abuses the law and steals from victims and taxpayers. I thank the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for their unwavering support of victims of childhood sexual abuse and their commitment to work with and provide resources to my Office and law enforcement to bring any and all fraudsters to justice. My Office unequivocally stands with survivors, not greedy opportunists who profit from others’ pain.”
On April 4, 2025, the County announced a $4 billion settlement with a reported 6,800 claimants. On April 29, 2025, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the settlement, the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history. After the settlement was announced, thousands of people filed claims, bringing the total to more than 11,000.
On Oct. 17, 2025, the County reached a tentative $828 million settlement of more than 400 cases. The County is facing an estimated 2,500 additional cases, bringing the total to more than 14,000 claims — a figure expected to rise and potentially amount to billions of dollars in liability against the County.
The DA’s Office is investigating hundreds of childhood sex abuse claims against the County to determine if fraud occurred. This includes fraud potentially committed by claimants, lawyers, recruiters, and doctors.
If you have information on false sex abuse claims or payments for false claims, please call the Los Angeles County AB 218 Fraud Hotline at (844) 901-0001 or visit fraud.lacounty.gov/ab218. Reports are confidential and you may remain anonymous.
The District Attorney’s Office encourages any non-lawyer claimants who filed false claims to come forward. These statements will not be used against you. This only applies to individual claimants. It does not apply to attorneys, doctors, recruiters or anyone else who helped facilitate fraud.
