District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Wednesday his office is investigating allegations that some people may have filed bogus damage claims against the county alleging they were victims of childhood sexual abuse in probation camps, and he said violators who voluntarily come forward could be offered amnesty for their cooperation.

The county Board of Supervisors last month approved an $828 million settlement with 414 plaintiffs claiming they were victims. That settlement was on top of an earlier $4 billion settlement involving roughly 11,000 claimants — considered one of the largest sex abuse settlements in U.S. history.

The various claims involved in the settlements were the result of AB 218, which temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on allegations of childhood sexual abuse. The claims included in the two settlements involve allegations dating back as far as 1959, targeting workers at the county Probation and Children and Family Services departments.

When it approved the most recent settlement, the Board of Supervisors directed county attorneys to investigate allegations that some people may have submitted phony abuse claims, or been paid to file lawsuits and become plaintiffs in the litigation. The terms of the settlement also called on the county to vet every claim and require every plaintiff to provide a written summary of the abuse they allegedly suffered, under penalty of perjury.

Hochman said Wednesday his office was conducting a criminal investigation into...

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