L.A. Sues Pair to Recoup $86,000 in Payments on Police Pension : Canyon Country: Mother and daughter are accused of not telling the board that the girl had turned 18, when benefits were supposed to stop.

The city of Los Angeles pension board has filed a civil suit against a Canyon Country woman and her daughter alleging that the pair unlawfully collected more than $86,000 in pension funds.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges that Eva K. Sizer and her daughter, Deborah Ann Sizer, received $86,351.38 in retirement money beyond what they were authorized, according to Deputy City Atty. Garcelle Embry.

The money was paid to Eva Sizer on her daughter’s behalf, Embry said. Deborah Sizer’s father, a retired police officer, died in March, 1983. As a surviving minor, she was entitled to receive pension payments until she turned 18.

But Eva Sizer allegedly didn’t notify the pension board when her daughter’s 18th birthday arrived, despite instructions to do so, according to Embry.

Deborah Sizer turned 18 on Aug. 14, 1987, but she or her mother allegedly continued collecting the payments until the pension board discovered the situation at the end of June, 1991. The payments stopped June 30.

Embry said that Eva Sizer, who could not be reached for comment, has not yet been served with the lawsuit. Embry said there is no criminal action planned against the Sizers.

Gary Mattingly, general manager of the Department of Pensions, said that the problem occurred because at the time the Sizers’ application was processed in 1983, a different department entered the information into a computer. At the time, Deborah Sizer’s date of birth was omitted.

Since then, Mattingly said, his office enters all information into the computer, and the information is cross-checked. The computer now notifies office personnel when a dependent turns 18 and payments should cease.