victim

Five alleged drug dealers are facing felony charges for their involvement in the death of Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez, the grandson of acting legend Robert De Niro.

A federal grand jury in New York indicted the quintet on Tuesday, each on a single felony count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in death, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors allege the men were “members of a criminal network that distributed thousands of counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl, among other drugs” to young adults and teenagers living in New York City.

The men arrested by New York officials this week — identified as Grant McIver, Bruce Epperson, Eddie Barreto, John Nicolas and Roy Nicolas — allegedly used social media to sell the drugs. Prosecutors underscored that the men’s “drug dealing had deadly consequences: over a three-month span in the summer of 2023,” alleging their drugs led to the deaths of three 19-year-olds.

Though the indictment did not disclose the victims’ identities, law enforcement confirmed the deaths include De Niro-Rodriguez’s in July 2023, according to several reports. At the time of her son’s death, actor-producer Drena De Niro — the Oscar winner’s eldest daughter with ex-wife Diahnne Abbott — said “someone sold [Leandro] fentanyl-laced pills that they knew were laced yet still sold them to him.”

A month after the young “A Star Is Born” actor’s death, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed De Niro-Rodriguez died of an accidental drug overdose, noting he succumbed to the toxic effects of fentanyl, bromazolam, alprazolam, 7-aminoclonazepam, ketamine and cocaine.

Akira Stein, daughter of Blondie co-founder Chris Stein, was also an alleged victim. Stein announced his daughter’s death in July 2023, months after she died “at the end of May to an overdose.”

“The DEA and US Attorney folks from the NYC Southern District have been really very sympathetic and respectful all through this process and I can’t thank them enough for this hope of some justice for her,” Stein wrote in reaction to news of the arrests Thursday. “Please be careful.”

Shortly after De Niro-Rodriguez’s death, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed that law enforcement had arrested a woman, an alleged drug dealer known as the “Percocet Princess,” for her suspected connection with his death. She was arrested on charges of selling drugs to De Niro-Rodriguez.

In a July 2023 statement, “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Raging Bull” star De Niro said, “I’m deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo.”

“We’re greatly appreciative of the condolences from everyone,” he said. “We ask that we please be given privacy to grieve our loss of Leo.”

Southern California Edison increased the number of Eaton fire victims that are eligible to file claims for damages in its final compensation proposal, though some Altadena residents say the utility’s program still falls short.

After talking to residents about the plan it released in July, Edison said it decided to expand the area of homes that are eligible for compensation for smoke damage.

“Expanding the eligibility area is one of the most significant updates made as a result of feedback,” said Pedro Pizarro, the chief executive of Edison International, the utility’s parent company. “The number of qualified properties nearly doubled for those with damage from smoke, soot or ash.”

The utility also increased the amount of compensation it is offering for some victims. For example, each child in a family that lost its home will be eligible to receive $75,000 for pain and suffering, up from $50,000 in the initial plan.

To receive payments under the utility’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program, families must agree to drop any lawsuits they filed against the utility for the Jan. 7 fire.

The program also is open to businesses that lost revenues and renters who lost property. And it covers those who suffered physical injuries or had family members who died.

Edison is launching the victim compensation program even though government fire investigators have not released their report on the cause of the fire. The inferno swept through Altadena, destroying 9,400 homes and other structures and killing 19 people.

Videos captured the fire igniting under a century-old transmission line in Eaton Canyon that Edison had not used since 1971, and Pizarro has said a leading theory is that the line somehow re-energized and ignited the blaze. Edison said in a federal securities filing this week that “absent additional evidence, SCE believes that it is likely that its equipment could be found to have been associated with the ignition.”

In documents detailing its final compensation plan, the utility included the example of a family of four with a 1,500-square-foot home that was destroyed. The family would receive $900,000 to rebuild, $360,000 for personal property, $140,000 for loss of use and $380,000 for pain and suffering. It also would receive a $200,000 “direct claim premium” for agreeing to settle outside of court.

That total of $1,980,000 is then reduced by the family’s $1 million of insurance coverage, according to the company’s example.

On Thursday, state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) sent a letter to Edison saying she was concerned about how the utility was requiring victims to waive their future legal rights in order to get compensation. And she called on Edison to provide immediate housing assistance to fire victims.

“Having acknowledged its potential role in starting the Eaton Fire, Edison must do everything within its power to prioritize the needs of survivors and make this commitment a core part of its corporate duty,” she wrote to Pizarro. “This means ensuring fire victims can recover and rebuild their lives with the support they are owed.”

Edison expects to be reimbursed for most or all of the payments it makes to victims by a $21-billion state wildfire fund that Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers created in 2019 to shield utilities from bankruptcy. Administrators of the wildfire fund told members of the state Catastrophe Response Council this week that they expect Eaton fire claims “to be in the tens of billions of dollars.”

In September, Newsom signed a bill that will bolster the money available by another $18 billion for future wildfires. Under that bill, Edison is allowed to raise electric rates for any Eaton fire costs that exceed the original $21-billion fund.

Some Eaton fire survivors told the council, which oversees the wildfire fund, that Edison’s program fails to fully cover damages suffered by victims. Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, recently sent the council a report detailing where her group found shortfalls. For example, Chen said, Edison is deducting a homeowner’s full insurance coverage from the compensation amounts even if the insurer has reimbursed the family for only part of that amount.

“Nine months after Edison’s negligence shattered our lives, the toll is clear,” the group’s report states. “Many have drained retirement savings, maxed out credit cards, or watched marriages and health deteriorate under the strain. “

“You destroyed our homes, lives and community,” the report says of Edison. “Fix what you broke. “

Chen’s group joined with Perez in calling for Edison to provide emergency housing assistance for victims.

Edison said its program is designed “to help the community recover and rebuild faster.” The utility said a report by RAND, the non-profit research group it hired to assess the compensation plan, determined the payment amounts “used modern statistical methods and in our judgment were thoughtfully done and well executed.”

Edison said victims can start filing for claims now and that it expects to get back to them with an offer within 90 days.

The NCAA picked a hell of a week to get into the gambling business, didn’t it?

Within 24 hours of approving a rule change that will allow student athletes and athletic department staff to bet only on professional sports, the FBI arrested more than 30 people in connection with a major sports gambling and betting scheme. The level of sophistication alleged in one 22-page indictment reads like an “Ocean’s Eleven” script with four New York Mafia families, a current NBA player and a head coach all allegedly involved.

For Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA, the news and arrests are a public relations nightmare.

But for the NCAA, it’s a warning.

Since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling paved the way for sports betting, more than 35 states have legalized it, so I understand why the industry no longer feels dirty. But the governing body for more than half a million young athletes must remember nothing will ever sanitize that industry.

A century ago, the Black Sox scandal nearly destroyed baseball in America. Fast forward a hundred years and we find out 16 professional tennis players — including a U.S. Open champion — were fixing matches for gambling syndicates in Russia and Italy. In between, Pete “Charlie Hustle” Rose received a lifetime ban for betting on baseball games as a manager and Tim Donaghy, an NBA referee, is busted for betting on games. Last year, former NBA player Jontay Porter was found to have placed several bets on games using another person’s account. We call him “former” because the league banned him for life.

So, if NCAA officials believe it is too cumbersome to enforce its current gambling ban (it is investigating multiple violations across several schools), imagine what life inside the organization would be like without some sort of deterrent.

In fact, no imagination is required. Just read the indictment filed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The FBI alleges the gambling scheme began in 2019, operated across 11 states and involved crime families with origins that date back more than a century.

According to documents, hidden cameras, programmable card shuffling machines and X-ray tables were among the pieces of technology used to steal tens of millions from victims during rigged poker games. Those allegedly involved in the scheme included Chauncey Billups — a Hall of Fame player and head coach of the Portland Trailblazers. Authorities said Billups, who led the Detroit Pistons to the 2004 championship, used his celebrity to lure in victims. In addition, the FBI said Damon Jones, a former player and assistant coach for the Lakers, shared inside information about the health of LeBron James with betters back in 2023. Terry Rozier, an active NBA player on a $100-million contract, was also arrested.

Now consider this: There are roughly 40,000 young men and women who play NCAA basketball and about 8,000 head and assistant coaches leading teams. How confident are you that March Madness won’t take on a different meaning if coaches and players are allowed to bet on games and find themselves underwater? A recent UC San Diego study found internet searches seeking help with gambling addiction increased 23% between 2018 and June 2024.

And while it’s true, the new rule maintains a ban against student athletes and coaches betting on college sports — so there are some guardrails against fixing games — but tilting outcomes is only one possible harm from gambling. The International Tennis Federation found that angry gamblers accounted for 40% of social media attacks aimed at players, with several threats credible enough to be submitted to the FBI. And there is already evidence that college students who aren’t athletes are using student loan money to place bets, and a 2023 NCAA survey found that 14% of U.S. 18- to 22-year-olds bet at least a few times a week.

Another 16% use a bookie.

I repeat: a bookie.

This just feels like a tragedy we can all see coming.

And we’re to believe the NCAA will be equipped to protect student athletes from predators when the Mafia is said to be using professional athletes and X-ray machines to steal from card players who are supposed to know better? The decision-making process for the human brain isn’t fully developed until a person is 25, and the NCAA just voted to let 18-year-olds with “name, image, likeness” money go in the deep water with sharks.

Given what just unfolded in the NBA this week the responsible move for the NCAA would be to pause the rule change — which is to take effect Nov. 1 — and reassess the risks. It’s one thing for sports gambling to cost a pro athlete to lose his career. It would be worse to see addiction or debt obligations steal a young person’s future before it begins.

YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow

Los Angeles County is poised to pay out an additional $828 million to victims who say they were sexually abused in county facilities as children, months after agreeing to the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history.

The award, posted on the county claims board agenda Friday, would resolve an additional 414 cases that were not included in the $4-billion sex abuse settlement approved this spring. Both the supervisors and the county claims board will need to vote on the payout before it is finalized.

The record $4-billion settlement covered more than 11,000 people, who say they were abused inside county-run juvenile facilities and foster homes as children. The individual payouts will range from $100,000 to $3 million.

The newest payout would break down to an average of roughly $2 million per person. It involves cases from three prominent law firms: Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Team, and Panish Shea Ravipudi.

The firms declined to comment on the potential settlement until the vote by the Board of Supervisors.

The announcement follows reporting by The Times that found nine plaintiffs who say they were paid by recruiters to sue the county over sex abuse. Four of them have said they were explicitly told to make up claims. All had lawsuits filed by Downtown LA Law Group, or DTLA.

The firm has denied any involvement with recruiters who allegedly paid plaintiffs to sue. DTLA said previously it would never “encourage or tolerate anyone lying about being abused” and is conducting new screenings to remove “false or exaggerated claims” from its caseload.

The county said any claims brought by DTLA will undergo an additional level of review before payments are made, citing reporting by The Times. The extra screening “may require plaintiff interviews and additional proof of allegations,” the county said.

DTLA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

The exterior of Downtown LA Law Group’s offices in Los Angeles.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who recently launched an investigation into the $4-billion settlement following The Times’ reporting, said the vetting will ensure “money goes only to the true victims of abuse.”

“Our settlements balance our obligation to compensate victims and treat their experiences with compassion with the need to put strong protections in place to protect taxpayers from fraud,” she said.

County Counsel Dawyn Harrison says she wants to see the law changed so “unscrupulous lawyers don’t get windfalls at the expense of survivors of abuse.”

“The conduct alleged to have occurred by the DTLA firm is absolutely outrageous and must be investigated by the appropriate authorities,” said Harrison. “Not only does it undermine our justice system, it also deprives legitimate claimants of just compensation.”

All cases will be reviewed by retired judges before the money is allocated, the county said.

If a judge believes a claim is fraudulent, the plaintiff will not get any money, the county said Friday. The county’s original plan stated that if the county found a fraudulent claim, the plaintiff could be offered $50,000 to resolve it or remove the case from the settlement so that it could be litigated separately.

The flood of claims was unleashed with the passage of Assembly Bill 218 in 2020, which changed the statute of limitations and gave survivors a new window to sue their abusers. Since then, school districts and governments have faced many decades-old claims, for which they say there are no longer records kept on file to allow for vetting.

Dominique Anderson, pictured above around age 11, is among the plaintiffs who sued the county for alleged sexual abuse and would stand to receive payouts as part of a new settlement announced Friday.

(Courtesy of Dominique Anderson)

County supervisors have been increasingly critical of the law, which they argue has left them defenseless against claims dating back to the 1950s. If the supervisors approve the new settlement, the county will have paid out nearly $5 billion in child sex abuse lawsuits this year — with more to come.

The county is still facing an additional 2,500 cases, which they say will further strain the region’s social safety net. The county recently required most departments trim their budgets to pay for the $4-billion settlement.

“L.A. County and other local governments must balance their obligations to past victims with the need to avoid ruinous financial impacts,” said acting Chief Executive Joe Nicchitta.

ROME — The Vatican took the unusual step on Monday of announcing that it had named judges to decide the fate of a famous ex-Jesuit artist, whose mosaics decorate basilicas around the world and who was accused by more than two dozen women of sexual, spiritual and psychological abuse.

The case of the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik badly tarnished the legacy of Pope Francis, given suggestions that the Jesuit pope, the Jesuit religious order and the Jesuit-headed Vatican sex abuse office protected one of their own over decades by dismissing allegations of misconduct against him.

The Vatican office that manages clergy sex abuse cases, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that the five judges named to hear the Rupnik case in a canonical court include women and priests who don’t hold jobs in the Vatican bureaucracy.

It said that such a composition was “done in order to better guarantee, as in any judicial process, the autonomy and independence of the aforementioned court.”

The statement suggested an implicit recognition that prior to now, the Vatican’s handling of the Rupnik file had been anything but autonomous or independent.

Famous artist accused

Rupnik’s mosaics grace some of the Catholic Church’s most-visited shrines and sanctuaries around the world, including at the shrine in Lourdes, France, in the Vatican, a new basilica in Aparecida, Brazil, and the chapel of Pope Leo XIV’s own Augustinian religious order in Rome.

The Rupnik scandal first exploded publicly in late 2022 when Italian blogs started reporting the claims of nuns and other women who said they had been sexually, spiritually and psychologically abused by him, including during the production of his artwork.

Rupnik’s Jesuit religious order soon admitted that he had been excommunicated briefly in 2020 for having committed one of the Catholic Church’s most serious crimes — using the confessional to absolve a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual activity. But he continued working and preaching.

The case continued to create problems for the Jesuits and Francis, though, since more women came forward saying they too had been victimized by Rupnik, with some of their claims dating back to the 1990s.

The Jesuits eventually kicked him out of the order after he refused to respond to allegations by about 20 women, most of whom were members of a Jesuit-inspired religious community that he co-founded in his native Slovenia, which has since been suppressed.

The Vatican initially refused to prosecute, arguing the women’s claims were too old. The stall exposed both the Vatican’s legal shortcomings, where sex crimes against women are rarely prosecuted, and the suggestion that a famous artist like Rupnik had received favorable treatment.

Trial about to start

While Francis denied interfering in a 2023 interview with the Associated Press, he eventually caved to public pressure and waived the statute of limitations so that the Vatican could open a proper canonical trial.

Two years later, the Vatican statement on Monday indicated that the trial was about to start. The judges, appointed on Oct. 9, will use the church’s in-house canon law to determine Rupnik’s fate, though it’s still not even clear what alleged canonical crimes he is accused of committing. The Vatican statement didn’t say. He hasn’t been charged criminally.

To date, Rupnik hasn’t responded publicly to the allegations and refused to respond to his Jesuit superiors during their investigation. His supporters at his Centro Aletti art studio have denounced what they have called a media “lynching.”

Some of Rupnik’s victims have gone public to demand justice, including in a documentary “Nuns vs. The Vatican” that premiered last month at the Toronto International Film Festival. They welcomed word on Monday that the trial would finally start, attorney Laura Sgro said.

“My five clients requested 18 months ago to be recognized as injured parties in the proceedings, so we hope that their position will be established as soon as possible,” Sgro said in a statement. “They have been waiting for justice for too many years, and justice will be good not only for them but also for the church itself.”

The Catholic Church’s internal legal system doesn’t recognize victims of abuse as parties to a canonical trial but merely third-party witnesses. Victims have no right to participate in any proceedings or have access to any documentation.

At most, they are entitled to learn the judges’ verdict. Unlike a regular court, where jail time is possible, canonical penalties can include sanctions such as restrictions from celebrating Mass or even presenting oneself as a priest, if the judges determine a canonical crime has occurred.

Legal hurdles to justice

But it’s not even clear whether the Vatican considers the women to be abuse “victims” in a legal sense. While the Holy See over the last 25 years has refined the canonical rules to prosecute priests who sexually abuse minors, it has rarely prosecuted sex-related abuse cases involving women, contending that any sexual activity between adults is consensual.

The Rupnik case, though, also involves allegations of spiritual and psychological abuse in relations where there was an imbalance of power. It’s one of many such #MeToo cases in the church where women have said they fell prey to revered spiritual gurus who used their power and authority to manipulate them for sexual and other ends.

The Vatican, though, has generally refused to prosecute such cases or address this type of abuse in any canonical revisions, though Francis authorized a study group to look into allegations of “false mysticism” before he died.

Leo has expressed concern in general that accused priests receive due process. But he had firsthand experience dealing with an abusive group in Peru that targeted adults as well as minors, including through spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience.

In a letter earlier this year to a Peruvian journalist who exposed the group’s crimes, Leo called for a culture of prevention in the church “that does not tolerate any form of abuse — whether of power or authority, conscience or spiritual, or sexual.”

Winfield writes for the Associated Press.

The Strictly Come Dancing ‘curse’ has taken many victims, but musical theatre contestant Amber Davies is confident that she and Nikita will not be a part of it

For years, the Strictly Come Dancing ‘curse’ has haunted the ballroom, blamed for break-ups, busted engagements, and headline-making scandals. But while the dancefloor has seen its fair share of heartbreak, Amber Davies is confident she won’t be a victim of the ‘curse’.

Musical theatre and former Love Island star Amber is currently paired up with professional dancer and one of Strictly’s favourites, Nikita Kuzmin. Amber, 29, has revealed that she is good friends with Nikita’s partner, model Lauren Jaine, and has also introduced her boyfriend Ben Joyce to Nikita and Lauren.

Amber said: “I’ve met Nikita’s girlfriend. I love her, she is so supportive, so easy-going. She met Ben and my sister too. It was lovely.”

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Lauren has also hit back at viewers who claimed that they wanted Amber and Nikita to succumb to the curse and said: “Please be respectful to the real-life partners and let them have a good experience of the show too.”

Amber and Nikita appear to be going from strength to strength in the competition and scored a whopping 35 for their American Smooth. They danced to the track Sixteen Going on Seventeen from The Sound of Music, which put them second on the leaderboard.

A source has since revealed that Amber is going to be taking the competition ‘one week at a time’ and that she ‘isn’t complacent’. The source also gave an insight into Amber’s thoughts on the ‘Strictly curse’.

They said to The Sun: “As for the curse, she’s madly in love with Ben and he is 100 per cent supportive of her. They are both performers and know how to block out the noise. They have zero doubt the curse won’t touch them. Amber and Lauren get on really well. They swapped numbers early on.”

Amber has been sharing some behind-the-scenes footage on her social media and revealed that her beau Ben has been watching her videos every day.

She said in a TikTok live video: “He is always like ‘let me see the tapes from today’. Sometimes Ben will make me bits and bobs for lunch. Contestants can stay in hotels but I don’t before a live show. I want to be in my own bed with my dog and my boyfriend.”

Amber didn’t even know she was going to be on Strictly until 48 hours before her first dance when she was whisked into the cast of the BBC show as a replacement for fellow Love Island winner Dani Dyer, who had sustained an injury in rehearsals before the first live show.

Just days before she was announced as Dani’s replacement, it was revealed that she will be taking on the tough role of Elle Woods, the part originally made famous by Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 classic, in a new UK tour of Legally Blonde.

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Betty Brown, from County Durham, ran a Post Office with her late husband and was affected by the scandal

Betty Brown, 92, believed to be the oldest victim of the Post Office scandal said she was “disgusted” at the treatment of sub postmasters as she pledged to continue her fight.

Betty from County Durham, operated the Annfield Plain Post Office with her late husband. She has previously revealed that she spent thousands of pounds of her own savings covering shortfalls that never actually existed after faulty data made it appear money was missing from the branch.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Friday (October 10), she discussed the “heartbreak” the victims had suffered, reports Wales Online.

“Totally disgusted that a government could treat their own people in the manner that they have treated the sub postmasters,” she said.

“Every one of us, not only me, every one of us. They’ve killed a lot of them.”

Betty told the ITV programme’s presenters Kate Garraway and Adil Ray: “They haven’t taken the one iota of care to any of the people left on their own, the families left, the struggles that they’ve had to go through and all the heartbreak and everything associated with it.

“And they’ve stood back, not our fault, we don’t want anything to do with it and if, when they’re forced to do with it, it’s as little as possible and how they can turn it over upside down so that the blame doesn’t go on to them, it’s all the postmasters.”

Viewers at home were moved by Betty’s comments, with one writing on X: “Get a government minister on at the same time as Betty so she can get them told!!”

“I’m so sorry for Betty,” another person penned on the platform, previously known as X. “Another person let down by government after government like so many.”

The scandal and its magnitude have come to light in recent years, with the Post Office later expressing regret to those affected, stating they were “deeply sorry for the suffering caused to so many people by Post Office’s past actions”.

In a statement, the Post Office further added that “we will continue to learn from past mistakes and are committed to continuing to transform today’s Post Office, rebuild trust, and move forward for our current postmasters and the 10 million customers who rely on us each week”.

This week the government announced that all victims of the scandal who are claiming compensation will be entitled to free legal advice to help with appeals.

Good Morning Britain airs on ITV.

Los Angeles County launched an investigation Tuesday to determine whether a record $4-billion sex abuse settlement approved this year may be tainted.

County supervisors unanimously approved a motion to have county lawyers investigate possible misconduct by “legal representatives” involved in the recent flood of sex abuse litigation against L.A. County. The county auditor’s office also will set up a hotline dedicated to tips from the public related to the lawsuits, according to the motion.

“It is appalling and sickening that anyone would exploit a system meant to bring justice to victims of childhood sexual abuse,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who first called for the investigation. “We must ensure that nothing like this ever happens again and that every penny that we are allocating to victims goes directly to the survivors.”

Barger said she was “incredibly disturbed and quite frankly disgusted” by a Times investigation published last week that found seven plaintiffs in the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history who claimed they were paid by recruiters to sue the county. Two people said they were told to make up claims of abuse. The plaintiffs who spoke with The Times said the recruiters paid them outside a social services office in South Los Angeles.

All of the people who said they were paid by the recruiters were represented by Downtown L.A. Law Group, or DTLA, a personal injury firm with more than 2,700 plaintiffs in the settlement. DTLA has denied any involvement with the recruiters. The Times could not reach the recruiters for comment.

“We do not pay our clients to file lawsuits, and we strongly oppose such actions,” the firm previously said in a statement. “We want justice for real victims.”

The county agreed to a $4-billion settlement in the spring to resolve thousands of lawsuits by people who said they were sexually abused inside the county’s foster homes and juvenile halls as children. The lawsuits were spurred by a 2020 law that changed the statute of limitations and gave victims a new window to sue.

To pay for the settlement, most county departments had to slash their budgets. Supervisor Holly Mitchell called it a “painful irony” that many of the people who were paid to sue were there to get help from the South L.A. social services office in her district — part of a department which now faces cuts.

“We are not an ATM machine,” Supervisor Hilda Solis said. “We are the safety net.”

The Times found many of the attorneys involved in the case will receive 40% of their client’s settlement. Barger said she was shocked to learn that meant more than $1 billion in taxpayer money could go to law firms.

“I seriously doubt any of those attorneys understand the depth of what they have done,” Barger said. “It is going to have an impact on the county’s ability to function.”

The motion passed Tuesday directs county lawyers to enlist law enforcement “as necessary” and consider referring the allegations in The Times’ reporting to the State Bar.

California lawmakers, labor leaders and a powerful attorney trade group also have called for the bar to investigate.

The State Bar has declined to comment on whether it will launch an investigation, but said California law generally prohibits making payments to solicit or procure clients, a practice known as capping.

A majority of the supervisors expressed anger Tuesday at the 2020 change, saying the law was poorly crafted and left the county hemorrhaging billions. Many counties and school districts have similarly decried the change to the statute of limitations, which they say forced them to fight decades-old cases without records. Governments are required to throw out older records related to minors for privacy reasons, leaving lawyers often unable to prove whether a person suing them was at the facility where the abuse allegedly occurred.

The law change was championed by former lawmaker Lorena Gonzalez, now the president of the California Federation of Labor Unions. Barger repeatedly called the law, commonly referred to as AB 218, the “Gonzalez bill.”

“I’m calling it what it is,” said Barger, noting that school districts across the state now find themselves in similarly dire financial straits. “Maybe it is time for us all to get together and figure out how we clean up the mess that the Gonzalez bill put into play.”

Gonzalez says she believes plaintiffs attorneys have taken advantage of her legislation and is looking for someone in Sacramento to pass a new bill that will make it easier for jurisdictions to defend themselves. She emphasized that her priority was protecting real victims and said her bill didn’t change the burden of proof.

“What, are they just pissed because they can’t do due diligence?” she said. “They’re deflecting their whole responsibility in this. I’ve been clear there should be changes made. They should be clear that maybe they didn’t live up to their own burden of proof.”

Over the last week, some county unions and state legislators have questioned whether county lawyers did enough to screen the abuse claims before agreeing to pay out billions. The supervisors planned to meet with county lawyers in closed session Tuesday afternoon to discuss, in part, how the claims had been vetted.

“Did we do depositions? Did we do due diligence? “ Supervisor Janice Hahn said. “That was the first thing that came to my mind is what responsibility did we have to actually vet each and every one of the cases?”

The supervisors emphasized that they believed there were many legitimate claims in the settlement, and they wanted those victims to get compensated for the abuse they suffered at the hands of county employees.

Many victims have told The Times that they suffered egregious abuse decades ago at the hands of probation staff, who they said would molest them and threaten them with solitary confinement if they told higher-ups. MacLaren Children’s Center, a now-shuttered county-run shelter in El Monte, was also rife with predatory staff, according to interviews with half a dozen victims.

“It must truly reach those who are harmed,” Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said. “These funds must go to survivors — not individuals or entities who are looking to profit from someone else’s suffering.”

Venezuelan model, influencer and businesswoman Isabella Ladera is suing her former boyfriend, Brandon De Jesus Lopez Orozco, more famously known as Colombian singer Beéle, after a private sex video shared between the two was leaked to the public.

Ladera filed her lawsuit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court on Sept. 15, alleging invasion of privacy, sexual cyberharassment under Florida Statute §784.049, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence.

In a press release issued Thursday, Ladera stated: “No one should take advantage of another’s vulnerability to make money or create content. This is not entertainment; it is a crime, and the only thing it leaves behind are scars.”

According to court documents obtained by The Times, Ladera and Beéle began a romantic relationship after connecting on Instagram in December 2023. At Beéle’s request, the couple recorded intimate videos on their personal phones. Ladera deleted her copies and urged Beéle to delete his as far back as May 2024, but he allegedly refused. The couple eventually broke up, and in June 2025, Ladera began hearing that screenshots of their videos were circulating.

The leak was confirmed Sept. 7, when one video went viral via WhatsApp and was later uploaded to social media platforms like X, exposing Ladera to public humiliation, reputational damage and harassment, according to her suit.

Celebrity sex tape scandals are nothing new to the public. The first huge and infamous one was Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson’s honeymoon video, which shocked audiences when it surfaced in 1995 and arguably helped cement the notion of private content as highly exploitable public fodder.

Later cases, like “Celebgate” — in which hackers leaked intimate content from A-list celebrities in 2014 — highlighted how vulnerable people could be online, no matter how rich or famous. Over time, these incidents prompted lawmakers to strengthen protections for victims, moving away from the informal term “revenge porn” and toward the framework better known now as image-based sexual abuse.

In May, President Trump — alongside the first lady — signed the “Take It Down Act” into law, making it a federal crime to “knowingly publish” or threaten to publish intimate images without a person’s consent, including AI-generated “deepfakes.” Websites and social media companies are required to remove such material, including duplicate content, within 48 hours after a victim makes the request.

Under Florida law, victims of nonconsensual sharing of sexually explicit material have specific rights. Florida Statute §784.049 criminalizes the distribution of sexual images without consent, allowing victims to pursue criminal charges against the offender. Additionally, victims can file civil claims for invasion of privacy, emotional distress, or negligence if the offender failed to protect or delete intimate content. Remedies may include statutory or compensatory damages, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs.

Though Florida provides these protections, they are generally more narrow than in states like California, particularly in terms of civil recourse and the ability to hold online platforms accountable.

Experts say states such as California offer more comprehensive protections for victims of IBSA. Roxanne Rimonte of C.A. Goldberg, a California-based law firm specializing in harassment cases, explained that California provides both criminal and civil remedies, making it easier for victims to hold offenders accountable.

“California is one of the states that provides a civil cause of action for victims of nonconsensual pornography, in addition to criminal statutes,” Rimonte said. “Victims have the right to pursue both legal and monetary remedies, and the law even accounts for AI-generated images or online platforms that knowingly promote illegal content.”

Rimonte also highlighted a key difference in legal frameworks: the intent requirement. While some states require proof that the offender intended to cause emotional distress — a difficult burden for victims — California focuses on intent to distribute.

“As long as someone intended to distribute or publish intimate content, that satisfies the intent element,” Rimonte said. “This makes it much more straightforward for victims to seek justice.” By comparison, Florida’s statutes can leave victims with fewer avenues, particularly for civil recourse, leaving them reliant on criminal prosecution that may be slow or inconsistent.

The public nature of Ladera’s case only amplifies the harm. Celebrities and public figures often face more severe consequences when private content is leaked, Rimonte noted.

“Unlike private individuals, celebrities tend to experience more severe harms from the wider exposure of their content,” she said. “Media outlets tend to sensationalize IBSA cases involving public figures, which re-traumatizes victims and magnifies the social and reputational consequences.”

In Ladera’s case, false narratives have circulated online suggesting she leaked the videos herself, further complicating her emotional and public ordeal.

Ladera’s lawsuit also highlights broader gaps in protections for victims nationwide. In many cases, enforcement is inconsistent, civil remedies can be expensive and time-consuming, and tech platforms often evade accountability under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields websites from liability for user-generated content. Experts suggest that reforms should include clearer federal guidance, improved civil remedies and stronger requirements for platforms to act when illegal content is shared.

“Victims deserve a legal system that doesn’t re-traumatize them while seeking justice,” Rimonte said. “Focusing on the intent to distribute rather than intent to cause harm is one example of how legislation can better support survivors.”

As for Beéle, he has denied any involvement in the dissemination of the video. On Sept. 9, his legal team issued a statement asserting that he did not leak or distribute the material and is himself a victim of nonconsensual exposure. His representatives also announced that legal actions have been initiated in both Colombia and the United States to identify and prosecute those responsible for sharing the video.

Beéle has not commented personally, instead sharing the statement via his official Instagram account and urging media outlets and social media users to refrain from sharing the material.

As Ladera’s case unfolds, it underscores the continued tension between technology, privacy and accountability. While social media has made it easier for people to connect, it has also made personal content more vulnerable to exploitation. For Ladera, the legal battle is about reclaiming control over her personal life and sending a message that privacy violations have consequences.

In a statement to The Times, Ladera’s legal team underscored that her case is not just about one individual, but about a wider epidemic of digital exploitation. They noted that while Ladera is a public figure, countless women across Florida and beyond suffer similar violations of privacy at the hands of malicious actors.

The lawsuit, they emphasized, seeks not only to secure justice for Ladera — but to send a strong message that the unauthorized dissemination of intimate content will face serious legal consequences.

“Let it be absolutely clear,” said lead attorney Pierre Hachar, Jr., “that any past, present, or future acts of this nature, whether by these defendants or others, will be met with the same unwavering resolve and addressed to the fullest extent of the law.”

Southern California Edison hasn’t accepted responsibility for igniting the Eaton fire, but it is now offering each victim who lost their home hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to a draft of its planned compensation program.

The owner of a 1,500-square-foot home destroyed in the wildfire, given as an example in the company’s draft, would receive $900,000 to rebuild. In addition, the utility is offering that owner an additional $200,000 for agreeing to settle their claim directly with Edison.

The family of each destroyed home would also get compensation for pain and suffering — $100,000 for each adult and $50,000 for each child, according to the draft.

Edison announced in late July that it was creating a program to directly compensate Eaton fire victims to help avoid lengthy litigation. The Jan. 7 fire destroyed more than 9,400 homes and other structures in Altadena and killed at least 19 people.

Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, the utility’s parent company, said in a press release Wednesday that the compensation program for victims was “designed to help them focus on their recovery.”

The company said that it would hold four community meetings to get public comments on the proposed compensation plan, the first scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m.

“While the investigation continues, inviting input on draft details is the next step in helping the community rebuild faster and stronger,” Pizarro said.

Edison said it had hired consultants Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros, who both worked on the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, to help create the program.

“The proposed fund is designed as an alternative to conventional litigation in the courtroom,” said Biros. “The terms and conditions are completely transparent and voluntary. No claimants or their lawyers are required to participate until and unless they are satisfied with the compensation offer.”

Private lawyers representing Eaton fire victims have urged caution. They say similar programs created by utilities to compensate victims of other wildfires resulted in lower payouts than families received through lawsuit settlements.

In court, Edison already faces dozens of lawsuits filed by Eaton fire victims. Settling those lawsuits is expected to take years. Attorneys bringing the cases on behalf of victims would get 30% or more of the eventual settlement amounts.

Edison’s draft protocol lists proposed payments for people who were injured, renters who lost their belongings and businesses that lost property or revenues when they were forced to close.

Among the payments to the families of those who died would be $1.5 million for pain and suffering and other noneconomic damages, according to the draft. Each surviving spouse and other dependent would receive an additional $500,000.

In addition, the family who lost a loved one would receive a direct claim premium — a bonus for settling directly with Edison — of $5 million, according to the plan.

Edison said the direct claim premiums — which include $200,000 for families who lost their home, $10,000 to those whose homes were damaged, as well as other amounts for other victims — were only available through its program and would not be offered in litigation.

The utility said victims don’t need an attorney to apply for the compensation. But it is also offering to add 10% to the damage amounts, excluding the direct claim premiums, to cover legal fees of those who have a lawyer.

Victims will get their compensation offers within nine months of applying, Edison said. The company said it was also offering victims a “fast pay” option where they could receive their financial settlement offer within 90 days.

“Speed in processing claims is essential,” Feinberg said.

Edison has said that the government’s investigation into the fire could take as long as 18 months. Pizarro said in April that a leading theory was that a century-old transmission line that had not been in service since the 1970s somehow became reenergized and sparked the fire.

If Edison’s equipment is found to have caused the blaze, the company would be reimbursed for the cost of amounts it pays to victims by a $21 billion state fund. The fund was created by lawmakers in 2019 to shield utilities from bankruptcy if their equipment ignites a catastrophic fire.

The public must register to attend the meetings at ce.com/directclaimsupdates. The final meeting is at 7 p.m. on Monday.