Fraud Probe Leads Call to Halt LA County Abuse Payouts (1)

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman asked the county to hold off on making initial payments for a landmark $4 billion sexual abuse settlement while his office conducts a criminal investigation of potentially fraudulent claims.

In a letter to county officials, Hochman said the county should wait for at least six months before making any outlays on the abuse deal struck last year in order to avoid “irreparable loss of public funds and further harm to legitimate survivors.”

The county said Wednesday in a court filing that in response to Hochman’s request it has agreed with plaintiffs’ lawyers to ...