Backpage’s Ploy To Launder Money Involved Its Own CEO Playing An Imposter

Tony Ortega Backpage apologist

We started these past few days discussing the blatant criminality that was running amok throughout the culture of Backpage (and the attempted cover-up from their chief apologist, Tony Ortega), noting how they’d been getting away scot-free with their sex trafficking scheme until Payment processing companies like Visa and Mastercard began closing their doors to them.

Similarly, some banks closed accounts that were held by Backpage (or Backpage-related entities) out of concern the accounts were being used for illegal purposes. For example, on April 2, 2014, Backpage’s Chief Financial Officer, Jed Burnst, received a letter from U.S. Bank that was addressed to “Backpage.com.” The letter explained: “ Dear Jed … please be advised that we have elected to close your Account with us.”

It is interesting to note that Backpage responded to these developments in several ways. One was to encourage customers to send checks and money orders to a Post Office box held in the name of a seemingly-unrelated entity called Posting Solutions LLC (“Posting Solutions”) and give such customers corresponding credit on Backpage.

For example, on July 31, 2015, Carl Ferrer exchanged email correspondence with a representative from a payment processing company. In this email, Ferrer deceptively identified himself as the CEO of Posting Solutions, described Backpage as a “brand” operated by Posting Solutions, and explained he was seeking to “ find a way to position payments under another company.”

The following episode provides an example of how the infamous “Posting Solutions” payment processing scam worked. On October 16, 2015, Backpage received an email from a customer complaining about her inability to pay for ads using a credit card. In response, a Backpage representative explained-in an email exchange later forwarded to assistant Operations Manager Joye Vaught that:

“ [i]f you would like to pay for upgrades or buy credits, we suggest posting with alternative payment methods such as Bitcoin. If you are in the United States, you can also pay by check or money order. Please make payable to ‘Posting Solutions.’ WE CAN ONLY ACCEPT CHECKS OR MONEY ORDERS MADE OUT TO ‘POSTING SOLUTIONS.’ Posting Solutions. Attn: Accounts. P.O. Box 192307. Dallas, TX 75219. Please send through the United States Postal Service. FedEx, UPS, or other mail delivery alternatives cannot deliver to a P.O. Box. When sending your payment please be sure to include your email address. Please do not make your payments out to backpage.com as we will no longer be able to accept them.”

This, of course, is a well-known technique long used by criminals seeking to hide the flow of their revenue streams.

Long a favorite scam of drug runners and arms dealers, Backpage made it their officially unofficial policy to use it to launder sex trafficking money as well and between September 2015 and June 2016, over $7.1 million of checks and money orders sent by Backpage customers were deposited in bank accounts held by Backpage’s own CEO posing as “Posting Solutions”.