Court case # United States v. Lacey et al. United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Docket CR-18-00422-PHX (BSB). **Jurisdiction:** US **Docket number:** CR-18-00422-PHX (BSB) **Linked takedowns:** 1 **People named:** 7 ## Case record **Court:** United States District Court for the District of Arizona **Jurisdiction:** US **Docket number:** CR-18-00422-PHX (BSB) **Status:** Lacey, Spear and Brunst convicted and sentenced; appeals/restitution continued; Hyer sentenced to time served; Larkin died before trial **Status verified:** August 21, 2026 **Dataset id:** case\_us\_v\_backpage\_principals The status line was checked against the public record on August 21, 2026. Proceedings may have moved since. What this case entry is. This entry records a court docket the audit located and checked: the case name, the court, the docket number where one is published, and the status the cited sources establish. It is not a summary of proceedings and it does not stand in for the docket itself. A case listed here does not establish that anyone named on this page is guilty. Charges are accusations only. Where a cited source records a conviction or a guilty plea, that outcome is attributed to the source and this index asserts nothing beyond it. Sources for this entry were reviewed to a research cutoff of August 21, 2026. ## Takedowns linked to this case 1 takedown record in this index is linked to this case. - [Backpage.com seizure](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/backpage-com-seizure). Trafficking and exploitation, April 2018 ## People named in this case 7 people in this index are recorded as named in this case. - [Andrew Padilla](https://takedownindex.org/people/andrew-padilla). No alias recorded - [Dan Hyer](https://takedownindex.org/people/dan-hyer). No alias recorded - [James Larkin](https://takedownindex.org/people/james-larkin). No alias recorded - [John “Jed” Brunst](https://takedownindex.org/people/john-jed-brunst). No alias recorded - [Joye Vaught](https://takedownindex.org/people/joye-vaught). No alias recorded - [Michael Lacey](https://takedownindex.org/people/michael-lacey). No alias recorded - [Scott Spear](https://takedownindex.org/people/scott-spear). No alias recorded ## Sources 4 sources support this entry. Each one is listed with the role it was relied on for. - [Backpage Principals Convicted of $500M Prostitution Promotion Scheme](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-department-of-justice-office-of-public-affairs-backpage-principals), Primary source. United States Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, November 17, 2023. [https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/backpage-principals-convicted-500m-prostitution-promotion-scheme](https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/backpage-principals-convicted-500m-prostitution-promotion-scheme) - [Justice Department leads seizure of Backpage.com, indicts founders](https://takedownindex.org/sources/us-doj-fbi-justice-department-leads-seizure-of-backpage-com-indicts-founders), Primary source. US DOJ / FBI, April 6, 2018. [https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/justice-department-leads-effort-seize-backpagecom-internet-s-leading-forum-prostitution](https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/justice-department-leads-effort-seize-backpagecom-internet-s-leading-forum-prostitution) - [Three Owners of Notorious Prostitution Website Backpage Sentenced](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-department-of-justice-office-of-public-affairs-three-owners-of-not), Primary source. United States Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, August 28, 2024. [https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/three-owners-notorious-prostitution-website-backpagecom-sentenced](https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/three-owners-notorious-prostitution-website-backpagecom-sentenced) - [United States v. Backpage case information and docket updates](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-attorney-s-office-district-of-arizona-united-states-v-backpage-cas), Primary source. United States Attorney's Office, District of Arizona. [https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/us-v-michael-lacey](https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/us-v-michael-lacey) [All court cases](https://takedownindex.org/cases)