settlement

Los Angeles County’s district attorney has opened an investigation into claims of fraud within the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history.

Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said Wednesday his office has started a wide-ranging probe into claims that plaintiffs made up stories of abuse in order to sue the county, which agreed to the historic $4-billion sex abuse settlement this spring.

The announcement follows Times investigations that found nine people who said they were paid small amounts of cash by recruiters to sue the county for sex abuse in juvenile halls. Four of them said they fabricated the claims.

“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 at a news conference Wednesday morning in the Hall of Justice downtown. “We are going to aggressively go after them.”

All nine plaintiffs had their cases filed by Downtown LA Law Group, a personal injury firm that represents roughly 2,700 people in the county settlement. The firm has denied wrongdoing. The Times could not reach the recruiters who made the alleged payments to plaintiffs for comment.

Hochman indicated his investigation, still in its early stages, showed this was just a small fraction of the “significant number of fraudsters involved in these settlement claims.”

Hochman emphasized the inquiry would focus on those higher up the chain — lawyers, recruiters and medical practitioners who may have submitted fraudulent forms — and not the plaintiffs.

Many of the people The Times spoke with who filed false claims were poor and in unstable housing. They said they desperately needed the cash promised by recruiters, which ranged from $20 to $200. All were flagged down outside county social services offices, where many were on their way to get food assistance and cash aid.

Hochman said any person who contacted his office about filing a fraudulent claim would not have the statements haunt them in a criminal prosecution.

“If you provide us truthful information, complete information, any of the words that you use will not be used against you,” said Hochman, adding the offer did not extend to attorneys or medical professionals. “It’s not something that we offer lightly to anyone.”

Hochman said Downtown LA Law Group was one of the law firms they were focused on, but the probe was not limited to them. He said the investigation would touch anyone who helped fraudulent cases get filed.

“I’m happy to label that entire group as a group of fraudsters conspiring to defraud a settlement where the money should be going to legitimate sex abuse survivors and victims,” he said.

The law group has denied paying plaintiffs and said it only wants “justice for real victims” of sexual abuse. The firm declined to comment further Wednesday.

Shortly after The Times’ investigation, the county supervisors voted to launch their own inquiry into possible misconduct by “legal representatives” involved in the lawsuits. The county set up a hotline for tips from the public, and moved to ban “predatory solicitation” outside county social services offices.

The supervisors also joined a chorus of voices — including California lawmakers, labor leaders and a powerful attorney trade group — calling for the State Bar to investigate. The State Bar does not comment on potential investigations, but has previously said California law generally prohibits making payments to procure clients, a practice known as capping.

Downtown LA Law Group represents roughly 2,700 people suing the county. Hochman said the firm is one of several he’s focused on.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

A flood of sex abuse claims followed the passage of AB 218, a state law that gave victims of childhood sexual abuse a new window to sue that stretched far beyond the previous statute of limitations. The law, which went into effect in 2020, has led to thousands of lawsuits filed against California school districts, governments and religious institutions.

This spring, the county agreed to pay $4 billion to resolve thousands of claims from victims who said they were abused decades ago in county-run juvenile detention centers and foster homes. In October, the county agreed to a second settlement worth $828 million over another set of similar claims.

Hochman noted the first settlement would have massive financial ramifications for decades for the county, which acts as a social safety net for the region. The county will pay the settlement out over the next five years and has asked most departments to trim their budgets to help pay for it. The district attorney’s budget, Hochman said, had been slashed by $24 million, in part, to help pay for the cases.

“Every penny that a fraudster gets is a penny taken away from a sex abuse victim that validly and legitimately suffered that abuse at the hands of someone [in] Los Angeles County,” said Hochman. “It is not free money.”

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott are putting their married days behind them. The estranged pair settled their divorce Monday, two years after going their separate ways.

The “Beverly Hills, 90210” star and McDermott have entered a “written agreement regarding their property and their marriage,” according to a declaration filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Details about that agreement, including custody and visitation, were not disclosed but court documents confirm the parents of five consider their divorce as an “uncontested” matter.

Court documents reveal that Spelling, 52, checked boxes requesting child support and spousal support “should be ordered” pending the judge’s approval. She also requested her legal fees to be covered.

Spelling and Canadian actor McDermott, 58, separated in June 2023 after 17 years of marriage. The TV star, born Victoria D. Spelling, filed her petition for divorce in March 2024, citing irreconcilable differences. The exes married in May 2006 and share children Liam, Stella, Hattie, Finn and Beau, who range in age from 8 to 18. When she filed her petition, Spelling requested sole physical custody of the children and joint legal custody and visitation rights for McDermott.

The “True Tori” star got candid about her decision to file for divorce during an episode of her “misSPELLING” podcast, telling listeners she was cautious about her split with McDermott taking an acrimonious turn and reflecting on how their relationship went the distance, despite outside skepticism early on. Before tying the knot, Spelling and McDermott were previously married to actor Charlie Shanian and actor-singer Mary Jo Eustace, respectively.

“And we got together and people were like, ‘Oh, I give it six months,’ and we always say, ‘Oh, we made it 18 years.’ It shouldn’t have made it 18 years and I think he would say the same thing,” she said last year. “If he and I had a real heart-to-heart, it would’ve been over a lot sooner.”

During the podcast episode, she spoke about their rocky relationship, recalling “red flags” and moving on with the marriage despite them.

McDermott had also spoken candidly about his marriage to Spelling months after news of their separation broke.

“All Tori’s ever done to this day is want me to be happy and healthy and I inflicted a lot of damage and pain on that woman,” he told the Daily Mail in November 2023. “It’s going to be living the rest of my life making amends because I took something that was really beautiful and I just tore it down year after year, day after day.”

Amid their divorce, the former spouses seemingly remained friendly. Spelling told People last year she and McDermott are “good friends” and that he remains “one of my biggest supporters.” Earlier this year, she honored McDermott with a Father’s Day post.

“Happy Father’s Day to my baby daddy and rad co- parent,” she captioned a pair of family photos.

Times editorial library director Cary Schneider and former staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.