A federal judge in Phoenix sentenced the three owners of Backpage, a prostitution website, for offenses related to their promotion of and associated money laundering.
Michael Lacey, 76, of Paradise Valley, Arizona, received five years in prison and three years of supervised release. Scott Spear, 73, of Phoenix, was sentenced to ten years in prison and three years of supervised release. John “Jed” Brunst, 72, also from Phoenix, was given ten years in prison and three years of supervised release. The court ordered all defendants to turn themselves into the U.S. Marshals Service by noon on Sept. 11.
“The defendants and their conspirators obtained more than $500 million from operating an online forum that facilitated the sexual exploitation of countless victims,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri. “The defendants thought they could hide their illicit proceeds by laundering the funds through shell companies in foreign countries. But they were wrong.”
“These convictions hold accountable three C-Suite executives who controlled an enterprise and its illicit profits,” said U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino for the District of Arizona.
Court documents revealed that Lacey, Spear, and Brunst owned Backpage from September 2010 until its seizure by the United States in April 2018. Evidence showed that they knowingly promoted prostitution via various marketing strategies including a reciprocal link program with an independent web forum where “johns” posted reviews of prostitution acts with specific women. They used automated filters and human moderators to remove terms indicating sex-for-money while still allowing ads to be posted.
In November 2023, a federal jury convicted Lacey of one count of international concealment money laundering; Spear of conspiracy to violate the Travel Act among other charges; and Brunst on similar counts including international promotional money laundering.
Today's sentences follow prior convictions within Backpage leadership:
- In April 2018, Carl Ferrer pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges.
- In August 2018, Dan Hyer pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges.
- Several Backpage-related corporate entities also pleaded guilty in April 2018.
Co-conspirator James Larkin died on July 31, 2023 before trial began.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri along with several law enforcement officials made the announcement today.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Rapp, Margaret Perlmeter, Peter Kozinets for the District of Arizona and Trial Attorney Austin M. Berry are prosecuting the case with assistance from various state offices.