Los Angeles County has agreed to pay roughly $4.8 billion to resolve childhood sexual abuse claims tied to MacLaren Hall and other county facilities under California’s Assembly Bill 218, but the MacLaren Hall AB 218 settlement payouts are largely frozen as of mid-2026 while the L.A. County District Attorney investigates allegations that a large share of the claims may be fraudulent.
The total breaks into two agreements. A $4 billion deal announced on April 4, 2025 and approved by the Board of Supervisors on April 29, 2025 covers more than 6,800 claims of abuse at county Probation Department facilities, juvenile halls, foster care shelters, and MacLaren Children’s Center, with allegations dating back to 1959.1Los Angeles County. LA County Reaches $4 Billion Tentative Settlement in Thousands of Sexual Abuse Cases A second settlement of $828 million, announced October 17, 2025 and approved October 28, 2025, covers more than 400 additional AB 218 cases involving abuse alleged between 1959 and 2023.2Los Angeles County. LA County Announces Tentative Settlement of Additional AB 218 Cases and Heightened Anti-Fraud Provisions Together the two settlements rank among the largest government payouts for institutional abuse in the country. Roughly 5,500 additional AB 218 claims against the county remain unresolved.3Los Angeles Times. LA Sex Abuse Lawsuit Investigations Payouts
Why MacLaren Hall Is Central to the Cases
MacLaren Children’s Center in El Monte operated as an emergency shelter for foster youth from 1961 until it closed in 2003. Attorneys for survivors have described conditions there as a “house of horrors,” citing locked doors, barbed-wire fences, and guards.4The Imprint. Notorious Los Angeles Children’s Shelter Was Once a House of Horrors, Lawsuit Alleges Plaintiffs in the $4 billion settlement described staff fondling children, raping residents, and impregnating at least one person in custody, with the majority of the alleged abuse occurring in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Several said that when they reported abuse to social workers, nothing happened, and some said they were beaten by staff for speaking up.5The Imprint. Los Angeles $4 Billion Settlement for Survivors of Sexual Assault
The cases became possible because AB 218, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 13, 2019 and effective January 1, 2020, opened a three-year revival window running through mid-2023 during which people whose childhood sexual abuse claims had previously expired could sue regardless of when the abuse occurred.6LegiScan. AB 218 Bill Text By late 2025, L.A. County was managing more than 14,000 individual claims.7Los Angeles County. LA County Announces Tentative Settlement of Additional AB 218 Cases
Why the Payouts Are Frozen
Shortly after the settlements were announced, a Los Angeles Times investigation identified nine clients of the Downtown LA Law Group who said recruiters had paid them to sue the county and told them to invent abuse stories. DTLA represented roughly a quarter of the plaintiffs in the $4 billion settlement, with more than 2,700 cases.8Los Angeles Times. LA County Sex Abuse AB 2189NBC Los Angeles. LA County Officials Approve $828 Million Abuse Claims Settlement
In November 2025, District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced a criminal investigation into potentially fraudulent AB 218 claims, opened a dedicated fraud hotline, and said non-lawyer claimants who came forward about their own false filings would not be prosecuted.10Los Angeles County. District Attorney Hochman Announces Criminal Investigation Into Potentially Fraudulent Sex Abuse Claims By June 2026, Hochman’s office asserted that as many as 81 percent of the claims in the $4 billion settlement may be fraudulent. On June 10, 2026, the DA filed an application to intervene in the litigation and freeze settlement payouts through December 31, 2026, with a hearing on the motion set for June 15, 2026.11Los Angeles County District Attorney. District Attorney Hochman Files Application to Intervene in LA County Child Sex Abuse Settlement
The California State Bar has also filed charges against DTLA attorneys. Founding partners Farid Yaghoubtil and Daniel Azizi face 16 and 11 counts respectively, including practicing law without a license in states where the firm signed up accident victims. Litigation attorney Igor Fradkin faces four counts. Former partner Salar Hendizadeh, who left the firm in October 2025, was charged separately in March 2026. The State Bar and the DA are also investigating the firm’s alleged practice of paying recruiters for client referrals in the AB 218 cases. DTLA has denied all wrongdoing.12Los Angeles Times. DTLA Law Firm California State Bar Charges No criminal charges have been filed against individual claimants, attorneys, or recruiters through the DA’s investigation.
How Claims Are Being Reviewed
Both settlements require every plaintiff to submit a detailed, multi-page factual summary under penalty of perjury describing the alleged abuse and resulting harm. Retired judges serving as independent allocators then review each claim. If an allocator determines a claim is fraudulent, that plaintiff receives no money and is removed from the settlement entirely.2Los Angeles County. LA County Announces Tentative Settlement of Additional AB 218 Cases and Heightened Anti-Fraud Provisions Claims submitted by DTLA go through an additional tier of review that may include plaintiff interviews.9NBC Los Angeles. LA County Officials Approve $828 Million Abuse Claims Settlement
No plaintiff was scheduled to receive payment until vetting was complete. The county agreed to transfer $400 million into a fund to cover claims that had already been validated, though those funds remain subject to the broader allocation process.3Los Angeles Times. LA Sex Abuse Lawsuit Investigations Payouts
What Claimants Can Expect on Timing and Money
Attorneys for survivors have warned that elderly and vulnerable claimants may die before receiving compensation given the pace of the DA’s investigation and the vetting process.3Los Angeles Times. LA Sex Abuse Lawsuit Investigations Payouts Even for validated claims, individual payouts will be smaller than the headline totals suggest. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger has noted that roughly $1.5 billion of the $4 billion settlement is designated for attorney fees.8Los Angeles Times. LA County Sex Abuse AB 218
The county is financing the combined payouts through cash reserves, judgment obligation bonds, and department budget cuts, with annual payments of hundreds of millions of dollars running through fiscal year 2050–2051. County CEO Fesia Davenport described the impact as “not a one-year, not even a one-decade impact.”13ABC7. Recommended Los Angeles County Budget Calls for Cuts If the DA’s 81 percent fraud estimate holds up, the total paid to claimants could shrink substantially; if it does not, the county faces the full cost of both settlements plus whatever comes from the roughly 5,500 unresolved claims still pending.
Possible Changes to the Law
California lawmakers are weighing reforms that would tighten the AB 218 framework going forward. The California State Association of Counties has circulated draft proposals that would require “clear and convincing proof of liability” for abuse alleged to have occurred more than 20 years ago, impose caps on pain-and-suffering damages, and tighten documentation requirements. A group of lawmakers assigned by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas is working on reform language, though no legislation had passed as of mid-2026.14EdSource. California Child Abuse Lawsuit Reforms County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison has called for legislative reforms to prevent fraud in future AB 218 litigation.9NBC Los Angeles. LA County Officials Approve $828 Million Abuse Claims Settlement Any changes would affect future cases rather than the two existing MacLaren Hall settlements, whose terms are already fixed and whose fate now rests on the vetting process and the outcome of the DA’s motion to freeze payouts.