LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is seeking to halt the distribution of payments from the county's more than $4 billion child sexual abuse settlement while prosecutors investigate allegations that a substantial number of claims may be fraudulent, according to court filings and the District Attorney's Office.
The request, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, asked a judge to temporarily suspend payouts through the end of 2026 to allow investigators to examine what the district attorney described as significant allegations of fraud involving claims submitted under the landmark settlement. The county reached the agreement in 2025 to resolve thousands of claims alleging sexual abuse in juvenile detention facilities, foster care and other county-operated institutions over several decades.
"I look forward to the court hearing ... to temporarily halt the payment and distribution of funds from the over $4 billion settlement of child sex abuse claims against Los Angeles County pending further review of a very significant number of potentially fraudulent sexual abuse claims involved in the settlement," Hochman said in a statement released by his office.
According to the District Attorney's Office, investigators believe pausing payments would help preserve evidence and avoid complicating the ongoing criminal investigation. The office said it is seeking only a temporary stay and has not challenged the legitimacy of every claim included in the settlement.
Attorneys representing many claimants opposed the request, arguing that survivors have already undergone extensive review and have waited years for compensation. They told the court that additional delays would create further hardship for people who have sought redress through the legal process.
The settlement, approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2025, was described by county officials as the largest sexual abuse settlement in the county's history. It resolved thousands of claims made possible under California legislation that temporarily expanded the window for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits.
On Friday, the latest development came when a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge denied Hochman's request to freeze the payments, allowing the distribution process to continue while the fraud investigation remains ongoing. Court proceedings and the criminal investigation are continuing, and authorities have not announced any criminal charges related to the alleged fraudulent claims.
