Officials warn thousands of new claims and potential fraud could push local governments towards bankruptcy
PRAVASISAMWAD.COM
Los Angeles, February 22, 2026
Los Angeles County lawmakers are pushing to reform a sexual abuse law that has cost the county an unprecedented $5 billion in claims payouts.
LA County faces more than 5,000 new claims of sexual abuse in government facilities. State legislators fear thousands of new claims could drive local governments to bankruptcy, a LA Times report said.
State legislators are determined to change the 2019 law that extended the statute of limitations for sex‑abuse lawsuits. This opened the floodgates to decades‑old allegations.
Assembly Bill 218 has triggered thousands of claims involving alleged abuse in schools, juvenile halls and foster homes.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office is reviewing “thousands of claims” for potential fraud.
Member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 5th District since 2016, Kathryn Barger this week urged Sacramento lawmakers to revise the statute, calling the reform “common sense.”
The law has unleashed a wave of claims that has already cost the county billions, she argued. “I want them in Sacramento to fix it,” she said. “I believe we are on the tip of the iceberg.”
Supporters say the law gives survivors long‑denied access to justice. County officials counter that the financial burden is pushing local governments toward bankruptcy.
Momentum for reviewing the law has grown amid concerns of fraud tied to the first of two major settlements approved last year. The $4‑billion payout to 11,000 claimants is the largest sex‑abuse settlement in US history.
The Los Angeles Times reported allegations of fabricated claims within that settlement, prompting Hochman to launch an investigation. He told supervisors this week that his office is examining “thousands of claims” for fraudulent submissions and predicted potential savings “in the hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars.”
