Judge rejects L.A. County prosecutor's request to freeze $4-billion sex abuse payout
This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.
Set us as preferred An attempt by L.A.County’s district attorney to freeze a $4-billion sex abuse settlement amid a widening fraud probe was denied Thursday as a judge questioned whether the county’s top prosecutor could usurp the decisions of the county politicians who green-lit the agreement, the largest of its kind in U.S.
history.The ruling boots Dist.Atty.
Nathan Hochman from his brief stint in a civil courtroom as he moves forward with his sprawling criminal investigation into the lawyers, doctors and plaintiffs behind the flood of sex abuse litigation against the county.“It doesn’t change our investigation at all,” Hochman said after the ruling from Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff.“But it will make more difficult … getting that money back from the fraudsters.
That’s what we were trying to prevent today and, unfortunately, the judge did not agree with us.”Hochman asked the judge earlier this month to halt the historic payout for six months after he said his office found “fraud indicators” that suggested as many as 4 out of 5 of the claims were false.Attorneys involved in the case have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and maintained that the vast majority of claims are valid.The first tranche of the $4-billion payout — which amounts to roughly $600 million — is set to be disbursed to victims in the next week.
L.A.County’s Board of Supervisors approved the settlement in April 2025 to resolve more than 10,000 claims of sexual abuse stemming from county-run juvenile halls, foster homes and a children’s shelter.
The deluge of claims came after the state changed the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse, giving victims a new window to sue.Riff questioned Hochman on Thursday about what legal grounds a judge had to halt a payout that the five county supervisors wanted to move forw...