Mugshot.com owners Sahar Sarid, Thomas Keesee and Kishore Vidya Bhavnanie have been arrested and charged this week for extortion, money laundering and identity theft, according to The Washington Post.
Apparently, mugshot removal fees begin at an outrageous $399. The “depublishing” process directs patrons to another website unpublisharrest.com where they must pay this fee or their information will remain on the site. For years, the site has been sued multiple times for causing cyber-embarrassment for some that were not even prosecuted for their crime.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra says:
This pay-for-removal scheme attempts to profit off of someone else’s humiliation… 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.