LA County DA claims four in five cases in $4 billion sex abuse payout may be fraudulent
Key takeaways
- Los Angeles County’s district attorney says he believes four in five claims in the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S.
- Distributing the money now, he argues, will hamper his investigation “by complicating witness cooperation [and] obscuring financial trails.”
- The State Bar of California charged three attorneys at Downtown LA Law Group, a firm involved in L.A.
L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman is asking a judge to pause most payments in the $4-billion sex abuse payout (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) By Rebecca Ellis Staff Writer Follow June 11, 2026 9:01 AM PT 3 5 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Los Angeles County’s district attorney says he believes four in five claims in the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history may be fake — a claim that dwarfs previous assumptions over the scale of fraud within the $4-billion payout.
Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman has asked the judge overseeing the bulk of the sex abuse cases to pause payments for six months while he continues his sprawling criminal investigation into the plaintiffs, lawyers, and therapists behind the claims.