A lawsuit was announced Wednesday alleging the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego fraudulently transferred real estate to dummy corporations in order to avoid paying out pending legal settlements to hundreds of victims of childhood sexual abuse.

The suit alleges that due to the impending passage of a bill that extended the statute of limitations for alleged sex abuse victims to file lawsuits, the diocese transferred at least 291 real estate parcels to its parishes in a bid to conceal assets. The suit, which seeks to undo those transfers, states the total assessed value of the transferred property exceeds $450 million.

The lawsuit follows an announcement from the diocese that “the staggering legal costs” of hundreds of sex abuse lawsuits it faces could force it to file for bankruptcy.

Earlier this month, Cardinal Robert McElroy wrote in a letter to parishioners that most of the diocese’s assets were “depleted” due…