The Board of Supervisors voted to pursue a new ordinance addressing solicitors who prey on county aid recipients for personal information or coerce them to sign lawsuits against the county, by creating a buffer zone to keep them away from county office buildings.
By a 3-0 vote taken on Tuesday, Nov. 4, the supervisors asked Office of County Counsel to establish a so-called “predatory solicitation zone” in the form of a county ordinance. The buffer zone would keep solicitors at a certain distance from the door of county offices, allow the posting of “No Solicitors” signs, and including penalties for violators.
“We are painfully aware of ongoing allegations of fraud and pay-to-sue tactics to file lawsuits against the county. These activities occurred primarily outside our social service offices,” said Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn. “This would be a safe buffer zone, to stop them from targeting our residents.”
The problems have occurred primarily outside the county’s Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) offices. At certain times of the month, recipients wait in long queues that stretch onto the sidewalks before entering to receive services.
“I’ve seen individuals set up on the sidewalks. Our clients have to go through that maze,” said Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
“It is in the public interest to explore the feasibility of establishing a Prohibited Predatory or Aggressive Solicitation Ordinance to reduce these risks, ensure safe and equitable access to County buildings, and deter solicitation practices that could undermine service delivery,” read the approved motion co-authored by Hahn and Second District Supervisor Holly Mitchell.
One reason is to prevent solicitors from asking customers for sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers, copies of check stubs and their EBT card numbers, which are used for receiving food and groceries as part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a federal program funneled through the state and counties as CalFresh.
This could lead to identity theft, resulting in someone ineligible using a recipient’s EBT card for food. The fraudulent use of EBT cards has been an ongoing problem countywide, according to the motion by Hahn and Mitchell.
“Whether it’s help getting food to feed their families, cash assistance, healthcare, or job opportunities, L.A. County is a critical safety net for thousands of residents. It’s our job to protect them, and that has to include keeping them safe from bad actors out to prey on them,” said Hahn.
The county has received reports, including published reports in the L.A. Times, that found the Downtown LA Law Group allegedly targeted vulnerable people in line for county benefits and paid them to file fraudulent lawsuits against the county, reported Hahn’s Office.
“Some we are told are offered cash payments, sometimes as much as $200,” said Hahn during the meeting.
This part of the predatory zone is referencing published reports that a small number of plaintiffs filed fraudulent claims of sexual abuse by county employees. The county has already paid out a $4 billion settlement in April for 6,800 people in cases that go back to the early 1960s, and more recently paid an additional $828 million to settle 414 more claims.
Lawyers from the firm Manly, Stewart and Finaldi said they represented 150 women in cases of sexual abuse against the county during a press conference at their offices last month. Some of the lawyers at the firm said the county had heard about fraudulent claims for months but did not do anything about it, but rather “turned a blind eye” to it.
“I raised the fraud issue repeatedly in front of the court,” said John Manly. He said his firm complained to the court about the fraudulent solicitation of clients. He said his firm had nothing to do with that practice. “The attorneys that did this should be investigated and go to jail,” he said.
The avalanche of sexual abuse claims in part came about after Assembly Bill 218, legislation by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, became law recently and increased the previous statute of limitations for filing sexual abuse claims by 14 years. The Office of County Counsel, the supervisors, and the county’s legislative department are seeking amendments to the law in Sacramento in the form of legislation to correct what they perceive as flaws.
“Because of unintended consequences from AB218, the county is left defenseless from fraudulent claims,” Hahn said.
The pay-to-sue tactics are part of the unintended consequences, said Barger. “It highlights just how messed up the system is, as far as litigation going forward,” she said. Barger wants to see reforms to the new law to protect taxpayers “and individuals being used as pawns,” she said.
The motion calls on several county departments to report back to the board in 60 days on a potential buffer zone ordinance with enforcement. It asks to coordinate with cities to ban predatory solicitation around public-serving county facilities, particularly Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) offices.
In the meantime, Hahn asked DPSS chief Jackie Contreras to move the lines indoors quicker, to reduce exposure to solicitors. “Clearly, what you are doing now is not enough,” Hanh said.