Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is asking a judge to temporarily halt payments tied to a historic $4 billion sexual abuse settlement, arguing that a large share of the claims may be fraudulent, according to a Thursday report from the Los Angeles Times.
The settlement, approved in April 2025, was reached between Los Angeles County and more than 11,000 people who alleged they were sexually abused in county-run juvenile halls and foster homes. At $4 billion, it became the largest sexual abuse settlement in U.S. history.
Concerns about fraud intensified after a Los Angeles Times investigation found nine plaintiffs who said they had been paid by recruiters to join the class-action lawsuit. Four of those plaintiffs told the paper their claims were entirely false.
Hochman opened an investigation shortly after the Times published its findings.
“They looked at this opportunity to compensate these true victims of sex abuse as an opportunity to personally profit and engage in some of the most greedy and heinous conduct,” Hochman said during a November 2025 news conference. “We are going to aggressively go after them.”
At the time, Hochman said the nine people who came forward were only a small part of what he described as a broader problem involving fraudulent settlement claims.
Now, according to the Times, Hochman says as many as 80% of the claims could be fraudulent. He is asking the judge overseeing the settlement to freeze payments for six months while his office continues its investigation.
The request would apply only to claims involving juvenile halls, which make up the bulk of the settlement, the Times reported.
Since the Times investigation was published, Los Angeles County has increased scrutiny of claims, especially those tied to Downtown LA Law Group, known as DTLA. The firm represented all nine plaintiffs who reportedly said they had been recruited.
DTLA has denied any wrongdoing.
“As we have consistently stated, DTLA never recruited anyone to join this lawsuit. In fact, we rejected over 70% of the cases that came to us. The allegations of fraud involving our firm are false,” a DTLA spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The firm also said it believes it has been treated differently from other firms involved in the case.
“DTLA was the only one subjected to an extensive independent third-party audit of more than 1,000 cases, with every client interviewed by a neutral auditor at our own expense. No other firm has undergone this level of scrutiny. We believe that fairness dictates that the regulatory agency make similar demands of other firms,” the spokesperson said.
In a Wednesday court filing obtained by the Times, Hochman argued that earlier review efforts were not enough to determine whether claims were legitimate.
“The prior and ongoing vetting by other agencies and entities has been insufficient to determine whether the claims are fraudulent,” Hochman said, according to the Times.
Attorneys representing alleged victims have pushed back, saying a freeze would punish people who already endured abuse and have waited years for accountability.
“They’re beyond frustrated,” victims’ attorney Patrick McNicholas told the Times. “Once again, they’re getting victimized.”
Lawyers for the plaintiffs are expected to appear before Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff on Monday for a review of Hochman’s request.
DTLA said it has cooperated with the district attorney’s investigation and remains committed to verifying legitimate claims.
“We look forward to Judge Lawrence Riff’s ruling on this matter and, as we have always maintained, we remain fully committed to working cooperatively with District Attorney Nathan Hochman and his office to verify the authenticity of every claim,” the spokesperson said.
“Our firm is fully committed to ensuring that clients who suffered real abuse are fairly compensated for the trauma they endured,” the spokesperson added.
