
Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer (center) and controlling shareholders James Larkin (left) and Michael Lacey (right) listen during a court hearing in 2017. Credit: Sacramento Bee
The last time I looked there were over 28,000 sealed indictments related to such crimes as human sex trafficking, money laundering, etc.
What does a “sealed indictment” look like?
BuzzFeed News carries the story that:
“The Department of Justice announced that Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer, 57, pleaded guilty to federal charges filed in Arizona of conspiracy to prostitute and conspiracy to engage in money laundering. Attorneys general in Texas and California also announced Thursday that the executive pleaded guilty to money laundering.” (1)
And they attach the unsealed “sealed indictment.” Here that indictment is.
Notice that this indictment names two defendants. Other indictments may name larger numebrs. So it isn’t the case that one sealed indictment relates only to one person.
Footnotes
(1) Blake Montgomery, “The CEO Of Backpage Has Pleaded Guilty To Money Laundering,” BuzzFeed News, April 12, 2018, at httpss://www.buzzfeed.com/blakemontgomery/backpage-human-trafficking-plea?utm_term=.cpoJPY3Qx#.kaLdlXz1x
3-28-18-US-v-Lacey-Et-Al-Indictment