LOS ANGELES—The County Board of Supervisors Nov. 4 approved a motion that will explore the feasibility of establishing buffer zones around certain county buildings in which aggressive solicitation would be prohibited. The proposal comes in response to an LA Times investigation that found the Downtown LA Law Group targeted vulnerable people in line for county benefits and paid them to file fraudulent lawsuits against the county.
The motion calls on various county departments to report back to the board in 60 days on potential legal framework, enforcement opportunities, and a possible ordinance in coordination with cities to ban predatory solicitation around public-serving county facilities, particularly Department of Public Social Services or DPSS offices. The report will also include recommendations for public education to inform county clients about predatory solicitation.
The LA Times investigation, published on Oct. 2, found that seven plaintiffs in a record $4-billion settlement by LA County for victims of sexual abuse were paid to join the lawsuit. The report alleges that the Downtown LA Law Group paid recruiters to aggressively target people standing in line outside of a Department of Public Social Services office in South Los Angeles. Customers have also reported to DPSS staff about being solicited for copies of documents containing sensitive information, including EBT cards, WD2 wage statements, Social Security Award letters, and Unemployment/Disability statements, in order to qualify for vendor-offered products and services.