Because the FBI did not act on abuse allegations, the U.S. Justice Department has agreed to pay approximately $100 million to settle claims with about 100 people who say they were sexually assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar, according to a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations, the Associated Press reports. An internal investigation found that FBI agents mishandled abuse allegations by women more than a year before Nassar was arrested in 2016.
The deal has not been finalized and no money has been paid, the source said. The settlement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Nassar was a Michigan State University sports doctor as well as a doctor at Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics. He is serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts, under the guise of treatment. The assault survivors include decorated Olympians Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney. “I’m sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told survivors at a Senate hearing in 2021. “And I’m especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed.”