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los angeles Months after approving the largest sexual abuse settlement in U.S. history, the county has reached an $828 million settlement to settle more than 400 additional sexual abuse claims against county employees, officials said Friday.
The $828 million deal still requires approval from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The county approved a historic $4 billion settlement in April for thousands of claims of sexual abuse in juvenile facilities dating back to 1959, officials said.
It also comes as the county is investigating allegations that some people involved in the $4 billion settlement were paid to file claims. A Los Angeles Times The investigation reported that nine plaintiffs said they were paid to sue, and four of them said they made fraudulent claims.
County officials announced the new settlement for 400 additional claims, saying that “the credibility of each individual claim will be reviewed, and plaintiffs who submitted fraudulent claims will not receive any money from the settlement.”
The plaintiffs were able to sue because of a California Laws that took effect in 2020 suspended the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse victims to bring cases for three years.
Lawsuits filed by thousands of people allege they were abused and sexually exploited in foster care and juvenile detention facilities in Los Angeles County.
The $4 billion settlement was initially intended to settle 7,000 claims, but it grew to 11,000, officials said. The county said it now faces 2,500 additional cases in addition to the two settlements and the total number of claims could reach 14,000 or more. Officials said the settlements were creating financial strain for the county.
If the latest settlement is approved, individual awards will be determined based on factors including the severity of the alleged misconduct, the county said.
Katherine Barger, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said the system is vulnerable to fraud, but officials are strengthening their review process to ensure settlement funds only go to victims of abuse.
The county said that to prevent fraud, each plaintiff must complete a detailed, multipage summary under penalty of perjury, a misdemeanor, and additional evidence may be sought from anyone suspected of fraud.
Officials said the April settlement will require additional investigation into the claims brought by the law firm, DTLA Law Group.
Some plaintiffs represented by the firm told the Los Angeles Times that they were offered cash to submit claims. The company has denied any wrongdoing. Those plaintiffs may be asked to conduct additional interviews and provide more evidence of the allegations, depending on the nature of the claim and suspected fraud, the county said.
The county could also refer attorneys accused of paying for claims to the state bar for possible disciplinary action, officials said.
County attorney Dawin R. Harrison said, “The alleged conduct by the DTLA firm is absolutely outrageous and should be investigated by the appropriate authorities. It not only undermines our justice system, but also deprives legitimate claimants of fair compensation.” “While both settlements contain protections to ensure that this does not result in a windfall for defrauded plaintiffs, there must also be legislative protections to ensure that unscrupulous attorneys do not receive windfall profits at the expense of abuse survivors.”
DTLA Law Group said in a statement that it filtered about 13,000 inquiries and accepted only a small number of cases.
The company said, “We do not pay our customers to file lawsuits and we strongly oppose such actions. If we ever learned that anyone associated with us, in any capacity, did anything like this, we would immediately end our relationship with them.” “We want justice for the real victims.”
Officials said the county’s ability to assess the validity of the allegations was hampered by a lack of records, the overwhelming number of cases and a court-ordered limit on legal discovery.
The county has also put in place more safeguards to prevent abuse and take immediate action when it occurs. This includes a new hotline to report allegations of child sexual abuse against county employees, which is expected to be implemented by the end of the year.
The $4 billion agreement in April is more than the $2.6 billion agreement signed in 2022 Boy Scouts of America It was the largest overall sex abuse settlement in American history at that time.