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Owners of shaming and blackmail website, Mugshots.com, arrested for extortion, money laundering and identity theft – THEIR mugs now circulate the internet after they made millions in their humiliating photo operation

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><h6 class&equals;"linkro-darkred"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Four crooks band together&comma; &&num;8216&semi;Pret<&sol;strong>end to provide a public service but make money by victimizing people with mugshots&&num;8217&semi;<&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"linkro-darkred"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">Sleaze operators Sahar Sarid&comma; Thomas Keesee&comma; Kishore Vidya Bhavnanie&comma; and Davis Usdan a dose of their own medicine&excl;<&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"linkro-darkred"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">Owners of Mugshots&period;com  exposed as their mugs now circulate the internet after they made millions in their humiliating photo operation<&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"linkro-darkred"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">The four alleged owners of Mugshots&period;com have been arrested  &&num;8211&semi;  Sarid&comma; Keesee&comma; Vidya Bhavnanie&comma; and Usdan were charged with extortion&comma; money laundering &amp&semi; identity theft <&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"linkro-darkred"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">California court Wednesday issued arrest warrant seeking to extradite the four to the state for prosecution <&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"linkro-darkred"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">Mugshots&period;com posts booking photos and removes them only if a fee is paid<&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"linkro-darkred"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">They extorted more than &dollar;2million in removal fees from victims over a three-year period<&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"articleIconLinksContainer"><&sol;div>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;293408" style&equals;"width&colon; 273px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignleft"><img aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-293408" class&equals;" wp-image-293408 alignleft" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;05&sol;Sahar-Sarid-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Sahar Sarid 1&period;JPG" width&equals;"263" height&equals;"305" &sol;><p id&equals;"caption-attachment-293408" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Thomas Keesee<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"imageCaption">They made millions off publishing mugshots online&comma; demanding exorbitant removal fees from their subjects&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Now the mugs of Sahar Sarid and Thomas Keesee&comma; two of the four alleged owners of Mugshots&period;com&comma; are circulating the internet after they were arrested on charges of extortion&comma; money laundering and identity theft&comma; <a class&equals;"class" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;digg&period;com&sol;2018&sol;mugshots-dot-com-founders-arrested-history" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"nofollow noopener">Digg<&sol;a> reports&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The website owners believed to be Sahar Sarid&comma; Thomas Keesee&comma; Kishore Vidya Bhavnanie&comma; and Davis Usdan were charged on Wednesday for their notorious website that posts booking photographs and arrest details mined from police websites and removes them only if a fee is paid&comma; according to <a class&equals;"class" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;arstechnica&period;com&sol;tech-policy&sol;2018&sol;05&sol;all-of-mugshots-coms-alleged-co-owners-arrested-on-extortion-charges&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"nofollow noopener">Arstechnica<&sol;a>&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The four alleged owners of Mugshots&period;com have been arrested after being charged with extortion&comma; money laundering and identity theft on Wednesday&comma; two of the alleged owners&period; two of the men&comma; Sahar Sarid and Thomas Keesee have been arrested in south Florida&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;293409" style&equals;"width&colon; 268px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignright"><img aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-293409" class&equals;" wp-image-293409 alignright" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;05&sol;Thomas-Keesee-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Thomas Keesee 1&period;JPG" width&equals;"258" height&equals;"298" &sol;><p id&equals;"caption-attachment-293409" class&equals;"wp-caption-text"> Sahar Sari<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Bhavnanie was arraigned by a Pennsylvania state judge also on Wednesday&period; His bail was <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wfmz&period;com&sol;news&sol;lehigh-valley&sol;upper-macungie-man-charged-with-extortion-in-california-on-line-scheme&sol;742969960">reportedly<&sol;a> set at &dollar;1&period;86 million&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;According to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra&&num;8217&semi;s office&comma; Davis Usdan is also in custody&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The foursome prosecutors said&comma; made more than &dollar;64&comma;000 in removal fees over a three-year period from 175 individuals in California&comma; according to a press release&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8220&semi;This pay-for-removal scheme attempts to profit off of someone else&&num;8217&semi;s humiliation&comma;&&num;8221&semi; said Becerra in a <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;oag&period;ca&period;gov&sol;news&sol;press-releases&sol;attorney-general-becerra-announces-criminal-charges-against-four-individuals">statement<&sol;a>&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8220&semi;Those who can&&num;8217&semi;t afford to pay into this scheme to have their information removed pay the price when they look for a job&comma; housing&comma; or try to build relationships with others&period; This is exploitation&comma; plain and simple&period;&&num;8221&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Across the nation they raked in more than &dollar;2million in removal fees from 5&comma;703 individuals&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;This pay-for-removal scheme attempts to profit off of someone else&&num;8217&semi;s humiliation&comma;&&num;8217&semi; Attorney General Becerra said in a statement&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;Those who can&&num;8217&semi;t afford to pay into this scheme to have their information removed pay the price when they look for a job&comma; housing&comma; or try to build relationships with others&period; This is exploitation&comma; plain and simple&comma;&&num;8217&semi; he added&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;However they were tracked down by the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force&comma; a group focused on tackling cyber crime&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The defendants all currently reside in other states and the California Attorney General&&num;8217&semi;s Office is seeking their extradition to prosecute the case&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Bhavnanie was arraigned by a Pennsylvania state judge on Wednesday with bail reportedly set at &dollar;1&period;86million&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The California Attorney General&&num;8217&semi;s office spokeswoman Tania Mercado said Usdan is also in custody&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;All four were charged on Wednesday with extortion&comma; money laundering and identity theft&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;In the 29-page affidavit&comma; prosecutors call the website a &&num;8216&semi;business permeated with fraud&&num;8217&semi;&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"artSplitter mol-img-group">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"imageCaption"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-293410" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;05&sol;Arrest-warrant-issued-for-Thomas-Keesee&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Arrest warrant issued for Thomas Keesee&period;jpg" width&equals;"687" height&equals;"887" &sol;><strong>Arrest warrants were issued for the four by the California Attorney General&&num;8217&semi;s Office for Sarid&comma; Keesee&comma; Kishore Vidya Bhavnanie&comma; and Davis Usdan&period; Above is the arrest warrant for Thomas Keesee<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"artSplitter mol-img-group">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"imageCaption"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-293411" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;05&sol;Arrest-warrant-issued-for-Sahar-Sarid&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Arrest warrant issued for Sahar Sarid&period;jpg" width&equals;"692" height&equals;"894" &sol;><br &sol;>&NewLine;<strong>The four men were charged for running Mugshots&period;com&comma; a website that posts booking photos and removes them only if a fee is paid&comma; Sarid&&num;8217&semi;s warrant is displayed above<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">The court filing includes the accounts of people who claim the website has jeopardized their lives and careers&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;One example comes from a man named Jesse T of Sonoma County California who said he was arrested and held in jail for 12 days before being released and not charged with a crime in September 2013&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;A year later he found his booking photo on the website which he claims inhibited him from getting a job&comma; despite applying to 100 openings in construction&comma; electrical and manufacturing&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;When he phoned the website he was told it would cost &dollar;399 to remove the photo&period; When he told the man on the line such a practice was illegal&comma; he laughed and hung up&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;After multiple unsuccessful phone calls&comma; Jesse said he answered a phone call from an unlisted number and recorded it on July 23&comma; 2016&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;When he answered he heard a man say&colon; &&num;8216&semi;-this third time tell you f&ast;&ast;&ast;&ast;&ast; b&ast;&ast;&ast;&ast;&comma; we never answer your calls again you&&num;8217&semi;ve been permanently published&comma; f&ast;&ast;&ast;&ast;&ast; b&ast;&ast;&ast;&ast;&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;As of Saturday the website is still running&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Sahar Sarid made a statement on his <a class&equals;"class" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;saharsarid&period;com&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"nofollow noopener">website <&sol;a>saying he stopped working with the website in 2013 and now works as a web developer in Phuket&comma; Thailand&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;My involvement with Mugshots&period;com and related entities ended in December 2013&period;  Prior to that&comma; my limited role with these ventures was always as an unpaid consultant&period; I never got paid nor wanted to be paid by anyone&period; I was not an owner or an officer of any business related to Mugshots&period;com&comma;&&num;8217&semi; he wrote&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;Mugshots&period;com makes public arrest records easier to find&period; I support these ideas and ideals&comma;&&num;8217&semi; he added&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;This isn&&num;8217&semi;t the first time the website has landed in hot water&period; The <b><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;api&period;digg&period;com&sol;api&sol;v5&sol;analytics&sol;canvas&sol;click&quest;content&lowbar;id&equals;2L8RNWZ&amp&semi;url&equals;https&percnt;3A&percnt;2F&percnt;2Fwww&period;nytimes&period;com&percnt;2F2013&percnt;2F10&percnt;2F06&percnt;2Fbusiness&percnt;2Fmugged-by-a-mug-shot-online&period;html" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener" data-href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;api&period;digg&period;com&sol;api&sol;v5&sol;analytics&sol;canvas&sol;click&quest;content&lowbar;id&equals;2L8RNWZ&amp&semi;url&equals;https&percnt;3A&percnt;2F&percnt;2Fwww&period;nytimes&period;com&percnt;2F2013&percnt;2F10&percnt;2F06&percnt;2Fbusiness&percnt;2Fmugged-by-a-mug-shot-online&period;html">New York Times<&sol;a><&sol;b> reports that Maxwell Birnbaum who was arrested as a college freshman on drug charges also fell victim to mugshot&&num;8217&semi;s blackmail&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;In 2016 Mugshots&period;com was sued in Illinois court by two victims of the website who said an incorrect listing on the site placed a victim &&num;8216&semi;a month away from homelessness constantly&&num;8217&semi;&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;A total of 18 states have passed laws banning mugshot websites like Mugshots&period;com from charging removal fees&comma; however the websites ignore the laws or find ways to circumvent them&comma; according to <a class&equals;"class" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;digg&period;com&sol;2018&sol;mugshots-dot-com-founders-arrested-history" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"nofollow noopener">Digg<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"articletext"><&sol;div>&NewLine;

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