California Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, announced charges of extortion, money laundering, and identity theft against four defendants who are allegedly operating Mugshots.com.
“This pay-for-removal scheme attempts to profit off of someone else’s humiliation,” said Attorney General Becerra.
“Those who can’t afford to pay into this scheme to have their information removed pay the price when they look for a job, housing, or try to build relationships with others. This is exploitation, plain and simple,” added Becerra.
According to the official statement, the four defendants named in the complaint are Sahar Sarid, Kishore Vidya Bhavnanie, Thomas Keesee, and David Usdan.
The statement alleges that over a three-year period, the defendants extracted more than $64,000 dollars in removal fees from approximately 175 individuals with billing addresses in California. Nationally, the defendants took more than $2 million dollars in removal fees from approximately 5,703 individuals for the same period.
The defendants currently reside in other states, and the California Attorney General’s Office is seeking their extradition to California.
For the full statement, click here.
Mugshots.com – Photo by Pablo Padilla on Unsplash
Kudos : Domain Name Wire.
