Backpage Founder Sentenced to Five Years for Money Laundering

Michael Lacey and two other executives face prison time for their roles in facilitating prostitution through the classified ads site.

Michael Lacey was fined $3 million and will serve five years in prison, with three years of supervised release.
Two other executives, Scott Spear and John Brunst, received ten-year sentences for their involvement.
Backpage generated over $500 million in revenue from ads promoting prostitution before its 2018 shutdown.
Lacey and his co-defendants laundered proceeds through shell companies in multiple countries.
The defendants plan to appeal their convictions, claiming insufficient involvement in day-to-day operations.