Backpage.com CEO Pleads Guilty After Sex Site Permanently Shut
Carl Ferrer, left, in Sacramento Superior Court in 2016.
Photographer: Hector Amezcua/Sacramento Bee/TNS via Getty Images
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The chief executive officer of sex-solicitation website Backpage.com pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy charges in California three days after the site, which was also used by human traffickers, was permanently closed.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that Carl Ferrer offered his guilty plea in state court in Sacramento and has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors against a pair of co-conspirators and controlling shareholders. Ferrer faces a prison sentence of up to five years.