Judge rejects freeze of sex abuse payout

An attempt by L.A. County’s district attorney to freeze a $4-billion sex abuse settlement amid a widening fraud probe was denied Thursday as a judge questioned whether the county’s top prosecutor could usurp the decisions of the county politicians who greenlighted the agreement, the largest of its kind in U.S. history.

- By REBECCA ELLIS

ERIC THAYER Los Angeles Times NATHAN HOCHMAN is investigating the lawyers, doctors and plaintiffs behind the sex abuse litigation.

The ruling boots Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman from his brief stint in a civil courtroom as he moves forward with his sprawling criminal investigation into the lawyers, doctors and plaintiffs behind the flood of sex abuse litigation against the county.

“It doesn’t change our investigation at all,” Hochman said after the ruling from Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff. “But it will make more difficult ... getting that money back from the fraudsters. That’s what we were trying to prevent today and, unfortunately, the judge did not agree with us.”

Hochman asked the judge earlier this month to halt the historic payout for six months after he said his office found “fraud indicators” that suggested as many as 4 out of 5 of the claims were false. Attorneys involved in the case have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and maintained that the vast majority of claims are valid.

The first tranche of the $4-billion payout — which amounts to roughly $600 million — is set to be disbursed to victims in the next week.