8/2/2023 0 Comments Backpage websites![]() ![]() Lacey and Larkin created Backpage in Phoenix as owners of the New Times alternative weekly newspaper chain, which became Village Voice Media Holdings after Lacey and Larkin bought the iconic New York weekly.īackpage's general counsel, Liz McDougall, did not return messages seeking comment. The federal investigation in Phoenix was first disclosed by Backpage in a court filing in February 2017. Some in the sex worker industry say that removing Backpage from the Internet takes away a safe mechanism for screening clients, and that the ads will simply move to sites outside the country, or to social media. "Although Backpage has sought to create the perception that it diligently attempts to prevent the publication of such ads, the reality is that Backpage has allowed such ads to be published while declining - for financial reasons - to take necessary steps to address the problem."īackpage has argued that it assists law enforcement in tracking down victims and perpetrators of crimes, which some police officials have corroborated, and is not a participant in the advertising on the site. "Many of the ads published on Backpage depicted children who were victims of sex trafficking," the indictment states. In addition to the criminal counts, the government is seeking to seize 10 residences in California, Arizona, Texas and Illinois, 25 bank accounts and 35 website domains in the U.S. A Senate report issued last year said that Backpage ran sites for 943 locations in 97 countries and 17 languages. The government alleges that Backpage netted profits of more than $112 million in 2013 and more than $134 million in 2014. "Virtually every dollar flowing into Backpage's coffers represents the proceeds of illegal activity," according to the indictment. Authorities also allege the company laundered some of the estimated $500 million in prostitution-related revenue the site has generated since its launch in 2004. The indictment accuses Backpage of facilitating prostitution committed by those posting ads on the site, specifically citing 17 victims trafficked on Backpage, some as young as 14. ![]() But the indictment claims the site continued to be financed by Lacey and Larkin and two other co-owners who all retained operational control of Backpage. Carl Ferrer, the site's current owner was not charged. Among those charged are the site's founders, Michael Lacey and James Larkin. The indictment was unsealed Monday after all defendants made their first appearances before a magistrate in Phoenix. The arrests come after the government seized all of Backpage's websites around the world on Friday. Seven top officials of the website, long accused of facilitating child sex trafficking, have been arrested after a grand jury in Phoenix issued a 93-count indictment alleging conspiracy, facilitating prostitution and money laundering. ![]()
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