Feds Want $97M in Cash Forfeited by Ex-Backpage.com Owners (also owned Village Voice and OC Weekly)
Six months after obtaining a 93-count federal indictment against two Arizona businessmen who once owned a national media empire that included OC Weekly and the Village Voice, the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking permanent forfeiture of more than $100 million in cash and real estate that belonged to the men and members of their management team.
Inside U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, prosecutors claimed the seized assets derived from the illegal conduct of Michael Lacey, 70, and Jim Larkin, 69, while they operated the adult-services website Backpage.com.
The April indictments, part of a multiyear onslaught by government officials to destroy that highly profitable business, claim Lacey and Larkin conspired to facilitate prostitution across state lines and committed money laundering.
If convicted after a potential Jan. 2020 trial, the business partners could spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Read more: https://ocweekly.com/feds-want-97-million-in-cash-forfeited-by-ex-backpage-com-owners/
