SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The chief executive of the online advertising website Backpage.com pleaded guilty to state and federal charges including conspiracy and money laundering.
CEO Carl Ferrer also agreed Thursday to testify in ongoing prosecutions against others at the site that authorities have dubbed a lucrative nationwide "online brothel."
Ferrer says in his federal plea deal that he was aware that a great majority of the site's ads were for sex services.
He also says he conspired with others at Backpage.com to launder the proceeds from such ads after credit card companies and banks refused to do business with the site.
The Backpage.com shutdown is significant because its likely the end to a site that has been implicated in hundreds of local cases and some major international operations connected to Minnesota.
In 2016, investigators said women were smuggled to Minnesota from Thailand and allegedly advertised on Backpage in the Twin Cities.
"The victims in this case lived as modern day slaves," explained Andrew Luger, former U.S. Attorney for Minnesota.
The list goes on: In Washington County in a two year span authorities busted 54 johns. 23 sex traffickers and found 52 victims. In the same time they found 174,000 Backpage ads JUST in the Twin Cities.
Investigators said as long as there's a will there's a way, but they hope the shutdown of a site that attracted so much illegal activity makes a dent in the sex trafficking trade.
