The industry consists of companies that publish mugshots and booking details of individuals arrested by law enforcement agencies.
The related reputation management industry profits when individuals pay a fee to have their mugshot removed from one or more websites;[1] often the same entity owns both the publishing site and the removal service,[2] which has led to allegations of and lawsuits for extortionate practices[3] and arrests of mugshot business owners on charges of identity theft, money laundering, and extortion.
To reduce the probability of their mugshot going online, at least one Florida attorney suggests that his clients pick a rural sheriff's department when they surrender to authorities.
[9][self-published source] Mugshot publication sites are often pulled up during routine searches online for things as innocent as employment or housing.
Even if someone has had their record sealed, expunged or reduced, and even if the mugshot publishing site has removed the offending photos, they can still be located.
Arbitrarily charging for mugshot removal doesn't fit the legal definition of extortion because the photos are public record.
[20] On December 3, 2012, a case was filed in the Lucas County Court Of Common Pleas, in Ohio, against 14 mugshot publishers.
[47][failed verification] On December 27, 2013, a settlement was reached and Judge Zouhary signed an order dismissing the litigation with prejudice after the mugshot websites claimed to not be in violation of any laws.
[50] On January 20, 2016 multiple plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against Mugshots.com and Unpublish and its owners Sahar Sarid and Thomas Keesee and operators in Illinois.
[3][51] On May 16, 2018 California Attorney General Becerra announced criminal charges of identity theft, money laundering, and extortion against the four individuals believed to be behind the cyber exploitation website mugshots.com.
[52] Thomas Keesee[53] and Sahar Sarid[53] were charged in an affidavit that characterized the business they own as "permeated with fraud"[54] and described their efforts to conceal their identities: "listing their business address in Nevis, West Indies, registering their domain name in Belize and using a website hosting company in Australia.