- Seven executives of the popular classified advertising website Backpage.com, including its co-founders, have been charged in a 93-count federal indictment, according to a press release from the US Department of Justice.
- On Friday, the site was seized by federal authorities, per a notice posted on the website, but the exact reasons were unknown at the time.
- The DOJ said the site has earned hundreds of millions of dollars from facilitating prostitution and sex trafficking.
The cofounders of Backpage.com, along with five other executives of the online classified advertising site, were charged with 93 counts of federal crimes on Monday for practices that the Department of Justice alleged “enabled Backpage to earn over $ 500 million in prostitution-related revenue since its inception.”
The indictment released on Monday alleges that the executives used “a variety of strategies” to make prostitution ads look like ads for legal services like adult companionship and escort services. See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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- Online advertising site Backpage.com was seized by the FBI
