Prosecutor release # Backpage Principals Convicted of $500M Prostitution Enterprises Promotion Scheme United States Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, November 17, 2023. Backpage trial outcome: the convictions of Michael Lacey, Scott Spear and John 'Jed' Brunst, and the acquittal of Andre Padilla and Joye Vaught on all charges. **Source type:** Prosecutor release **Published:** November 17, 2023 **Research grade:** P1 **Used in entries:** 13 ## Bibliographic record **Publisher:** United States Attorney's Office, District of Arizona **Published:** November 17, 2023 **Source type:** Prosecutor release **Research grade:** Source grade P1 **Language:** English **Official record:** Official publication **Address:** [https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/backpage-principals-convicted-500m-prostitution-enterprises-promotion-scheme](https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/backpage-principals-convicted-500m-prostitution-enterprises-promotion-scheme) **What it supports:** Backpage trial outcome: the convictions of Michael Lacey, Scott Spear and John 'Jed' Brunst, and the acquittal of Andre Padilla and Joye Vaught on all charges **Dataset id:** src\_usao\_az\_backpage\_convictions\_2023 ## Research notes - Press Release Number: 2023-181\_Backpage. - Headline and slug differ from the existing record src\_doj\_backpage\_convictions\_2023, which carries the Office of Public Affairs version titled 'Backpage Principals Convicted of $500M Prostitution Promotion Scheme' (without 'Enterprises'). Both pages are live. - The verdict was returned the day before publication ('convicted three former owners of Backpage.com yesterday'). - Read via an Internet Archive capture because justice.gov serves an Akamai bot interstitial to automated clients. How this source is used Cited 13 times across 2 record types. The role on each citation records what the source was relied on for. A primary source establishes the fact, a supporting source corroborates it, technical evidence describes the infrastructure, and a later outcome records what happened afterwards. Sources were reviewed to a research cutoff of August 23, 2026. Addresses recorded after that date are not reflected here. ## Cited by ### Takedown records 1 citation Cited on the takedown record itself. - [Backpage.com seizure](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/backpage-com-seizure) Trafficking and exploitation, April 2018 Supporting source ### Legal actions against people 12 citations Cited for a recorded legal action against a named person. - [Scott Spear](https://takedownindex.org/people/scott-spear) Charged, Backpage.com seizure Later outcome - [Andrew Padilla](https://takedownindex.org/people/andrew-padilla) Charged, Backpage.com seizure Later outcome - [Michael Lacey](https://takedownindex.org/people/michael-lacey) Convicted, Backpage.com seizure Later outcome - [Michael Lacey](https://takedownindex.org/people/michael-lacey) Sentenced, Backpage.com seizure Later outcome - [Scott Spear](https://takedownindex.org/people/scott-spear) Convicted, Backpage.com seizure Later outcome - [Scott Spear](https://takedownindex.org/people/scott-spear) Sentenced, Backpage.com seizure Later outcome - [John E. “Jed” Brunst](https://takedownindex.org/people/john-e-jed-brunst) Convicted, Backpage.com seizure Later outcome - [John E. “Jed” Brunst](https://takedownindex.org/people/john-e-jed-brunst) Sentenced, Backpage.com seizure Later outcome - [Dan Hyer](https://takedownindex.org/people/dan-hyer) Pleaded guilty, Backpage.com seizure Later outcome - [Dan Hyer](https://takedownindex.org/people/dan-hyer) Sentenced, Backpage.com seizure Later outcome - [Andrew Padilla](https://takedownindex.org/people/andrew-padilla) Acquitted, Backpage.com seizure Later outcome - [Jaala Joye Vaught](https://takedownindex.org/people/jaala-joye-vaught) Acquitted, Backpage.com seizure Later outcome [All sources](https://takedownindex.org/sources)