Compensation for Victims

The FBI is urging people who were sex trafficked through classified ads on Backpage or CityXGuide—and suffered financial losses as a result—to apply for compensation through a special Department of Justice (DOJ) program before the March 31, 2026, deadline.

In July, Federal officials announced the launch of the Backpage Compensation Program to help trafficking victims recoup financial losses they encountered at the hands of Backpage and CityXGuide between 2004 and 2020. Last year, DOJ forfeited approximately $200 million in assets, which are available to compensate trafficking survivors for eligible financial losses, such as costs related to medical care, counseling, or lost income.

The FBI, DOJ, and partner agencies want to ensure all sex trafficking victims who suffered losses through the online platforms are aware of this opportunity for compensation.

“The goal is to return as much of the $200 million as possible to victims of trafficking,” said Desirae Tolhurst, the FBI Phoenix Field Office special agent who led the Backpage investigation. She said the most critical piece to providing financial relief is documentation—medical records, receipts, emails, and even records of their online advertisements.

Tolhurst, a white-collar crime investigator, said documentation can be difficult since aliases, prepaid mobile “burner” phones, and fake phone numbers are not uncommon in trafficking circles: “So, it’s not as straightforward as you might think.”

Partner agencies like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) are trying to make it easier for survivors to gather and provide necessary information. NCMEC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce child sexual exploitation and prevent child victimization in partnership with law enforcement and the public through resources and reporting.

To that end, NCMEC created a Backpage Survivor Remission Network to connect eligible individuals with resources that can help them pursue compensation.

“We’ve been able to elevate our partnership with law firms, medical health clinicians, and so many others and bring them into the fold to support the larger good of this compensation process,” said Yiota Souras, chief legal officer for NCMEC. The organization launched its outreach effort on September 4 and by early December 2025 had placed more than 370 trafficking survivors with lawyers from about 35 national firms that are providing pro bono services.

“I certainly think it’s important to know that people can complete petitions on their own and submit them,” Souras said. “But I think it’s also important to know there are free resources available to help—a trusted partner to walk alongside survivors and help them through this.”

Backpage.com was once a major online marketplace for classified ads. From 2004 until 2018, criminals used the site to facilitate commercial sex and sex trafficking, including trafficking of minors. The federal government seized Backpage.com in April 2018 and later brought criminal charges and filed civil forfeiture complaints.

The site’s owners and administrators have since been found guilty of multiple offenses, including conspiring to facilitate unlawful commercial sex and money laundering. Several were sentenced to federal prison.