The four alleged owners of a website mugshots.com, which publishes photos of people taken soon after they have been arrested, have been arrested .
The alleged owners of the mugshots.com website have been accused of extortion and other crimes.
The site required anyone wanting to have their image removed to hand over a substantial payment.
It generated more than $2 million from people wanting images removed, said California’s Attorney General.
“This pay-for-removal scheme attempts to profit off of someone else’s humiliation,” said Attorney General Xavier Becerra in a statement.
“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,” he said.
Images were only removed if people depicted on mugshots.com paid fees, said the statement, even though many had the charges against them dismissed or had been mistakenly arrested. More than 5,700 people paid to have their image removed from the site.
“This is exploitation, plain and simple,” added Mr Becarra. The California Attorney General’s office encouraged anyone who paid to get their image “de-published” to contact it with more details.
