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MICHAEL BAILEY

United States Attorney

District of Arizona

KEVIN M. RAPP (Ariz. Bar No. 014249, kevin.rapp@usdoj.gov)

MARGARET PERLMETER (Ariz. Bar No. 024805, margaret.perlmeter@usdoj.gov)

PETER S. KOZINETS (Ariz. Bar No. 019856, peter.kozinets@usdoj.gov) 

ANDREW C. STONE (Ariz. Bar No. 026543, andrew.stone@usdoj.gov)

JOHN J. KUCERA (Cal. Bar No. 274184, john.kucera@usdoj.gov) 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys

40 N. Central Avenue, Suite 1800

Phoenix, Arizona 85004-4408

Telephone (602) 514-7500

BRIAN BENCZKOWSKI

Assistant Attorney General

Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice

REGINALD E. JONES (Miss. Bar No. 102806, reginald.jones4@usdoj.gov) 

Senior Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section 

950 Pennsylvania Ave N.W., Room 2116

Washington, D.C. 20530

Telephone (202) 616-2807 

Attorneys for Plaintiff

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

United States of America,

Plaintiff, 

v. 

Michael Lacey, et al.,

Defendants.

CR-18-422-PHX-SMB

UNITED STATES’ NOTICE 

REGARDING STATUS OF 

BACKPAGE SERVERS, JENCKS,

AND PROPOSED DATES FOR 

EXTENSION OF EXISTING 

DEADLINES IN THE SCHEDULING

ORDER AND PROPOSED ORDER 

I. Government’s Notice Regarding Status of Backpage Servers, Jencks, and 

Proposed Dates for Extension of Existing Deadlines in the Scheduling Order

On April 23, 2019, the Court conducted a status conference where, among other 

things, Status Reports (CR, 524, 527, and 528) were discussed. During the status 

conference, the Court denied Defendants oral motion for the Court to reconsider the 

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disclosure of Jencks material as it relates to Carl Ferrer. (See Minute Entry for Status 

Conference on April 23; CR 545). The Court also denied Defendants oral motion to extend 

the existing deadlines in the Scheduling Order without prejudice. Id. Additionally, the 

Court ordered the government and Defendants to file a notice with the court on the status 

of the servers, Jencks, and proposed dates for extension of existing deadlines in the 

Scheduling Order. Id. 1

 

II. Status of Servers

On March 6, 2019, the government provided Defendants a detailed summary of how 

it handled of the Backpage server data. (See CR 524; Exhibit H). As articulated in that 

summary, the government currently has 46 servers in its possession obtained from 

Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tucson, Arizona, and Dallas, Texas. The government will

retrieve the remaining servers from Amsterdam (which will include the Backpage Payment 

Processing Island) the week of June 10, 2019. 

A. Backpage.com Website Servers, DesertNet and W.G.

Since the April 23, 2019, status conference, the government has worked diligently 

with W.G., Chief Technology Officer for DesertNet (a technology consultant company that 

handled the administration of the Backpage.com website servers since its inception) to 

provide specific descriptions and roles of the Backpage.com website servers. (See

Declaration of IRS Special Agent Richard Robinson, Exhibit D and Attachment 1 to the 

 

1 During the April 23, 2019, status conference the government also agreed to provide Bates numbers to the exhibits on its preliminary exhibit list to defense counsel. On May 

29, 2019, the government provided defense counsel (including David Eisenberg and Joy Bertrand) with Bates numbers for approximately 90% of exhibits contained on its 

preliminary exhibit list. (See Exhibit A). The government will continue to periodically provide Defendants with updated and revised preliminary exhibit list in the coming weeks, 

to include adding Bates numbers to the approximately 10% of documents that do not 

already contain them. Id. Additionally, on or about May 20, 2019, the government provided counsel Eisenberg and Bertrand with two DVD’s. The first DVD contained “hot

docs” specifically related to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment concerning all Defendants as well as the victim ads referenced in Counts 1-51. The second DVD

contained “hot docs” specifically tailored to Eisenberg’s and Bertrand’s individual clients. (See Exhibits B and C).

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declaration.) The government imaged the master database servers and on March 8, 2019, 

provided Defendants copies of that server data (i.e. all of the ads that were on 

Backpage.com at the time the website was seized and shut-down). (See Robinson 

Declaration, Exhibit D, Attachment 4.) The government also imaged the image servers

and on March 8, 2019, provided defendants copies of that data (i.e. all of the images that 

were on Backpage.com at the time the website was seized and shutdown). (See Robinson 

Declaration, Exhibit D, Attachment 4.) The government does not intend to image the 

replicated database servers and backup server because they are redundant to the master 

database servers and image servers already imaged and provided to Defendants. (See

Robinson declaration, Exhibit D, Attachment 1.) Additionally, the government does not 

intend to image the various web servers because they contain no unique data. In other 

words, the web servers stored neither website content nor images. (See Robinson 

declaration, Exhibit D, Attachment 1.)

B. Payment Processing Island (PPI), Miscellaneous Computer Servers and 

CK

In addition to working with W.G. to provide specific descriptions and roles of the 

Backpage.com website servers, the government has also worked with former 

Backpage.com Chief Technology Officer C.K. to provide specific descriptions and roles 

of servers used to house the Backpage.com Payment Processing Island (PPI), the system 

that received and tracked online payments for Backpage.com ads.

2 (See Robinson

Declaration, Exhibit D and Attachments 2 and 3 to the declaration.) As mentioned above, 

the government will retrieve the remaining servers from Amsterdam—to include the 

servers that store the PPI system —the week of June 10, 2019. The government will then 

image the MySQL Master Database Server (contains all of the transaction data in the 

payment processing island), and the Internal App Red Hat Web Servers (contains web 

 

2 A part of C.K.’s duties as Chief Technology Officer included maintaining the servers that housed the PPI.

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applications that presented data to internal Backpage employees and related companies) 

and make imaged copies of this server data available to Defendants on or before July 15, 

2019.3

 The government does not intend to image the MySQL Slave Database Servers

because they contain duplicate data from the Master Database Server and did not hold any 

unique data. (See Robinson Declaration, Exhibit D, Attachments 2 and 3.) The 

government also does not intend to image the External App Red Hat Web Servers.

In addition to the two servers seized in Dallas that contain email-related data the 

government made available to Defendants on March 7, 2019, the government also seized 

three servers in Dallas that contain backup and storage data. The government has imaged 

one of these servers containing various virtual machines. The other two servers are backup 

appliances that have not been imaged. (See Robinson declaration, Exhibit D ¶17, and 

Attachment 2, p.3.)

III. Jencks Materials

The government has complied with the Scheduling Order and produced Jencks

material in its possession (except for Carl Ferrer’s Jencks statements) to Defendants.4

 In 

accordance with the Scheduling Order, if the government obtains additional Jencks Act 

material, it will disclose those materials to Defendants as soon as practicable. (See CR 

121; p.2, footnote 3. (“If the government obtains any additional written Jencks material 

after this date [02/25/19], this Jencks material shall be produced promptly to the defense 

as soon as practicable.”))

 

3 This should require imaging approximately three servers. The government will provide the Court with an update regarding the imaging of this data at the June 24, 2019, status conference. The government will also notify the Court when this data has been imaged and made available to Defendants. 

4 As per the Court’s April 22, 2019, Order (CR 535), the government will disclose any Jencks Act statements of Carl Ferrer on or before June 25, 2019.

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IV. Government’s Proposed Dates for Extension of Existing Deadlines in the 

Scheduling Order

A. Discovery and Disclosure Deadlines5

1. Government’s rebuttal expert disclosures, if any 09/03/2019

2. Defendant’s Production of Rule 26.2 material as to 07/01/2019

intended witnesses, if any

B. Filing and Other Court Deadlines

1. Defense Disclosure of Preliminary Exhibit and Witness List 07/01/20196

2. Substantive Motions Deadline 09/09/2019

3. Government’s Rebuttal Exhibit and Witness List 09/09/2019

4. Motions in Limine and Court Imposed Plea Offer 10/14/2019 expiration deadline

5. Jury Questionnaire and Screening for Length of Trial 11/04/2019

6. Government’s Disclosure of Final Exhibit and Witness List 12/02/2019

7. Defendant’s Final Exhibit and Witness List 12/09/2019

8. Joint Voir Dire, Joint Statement of the Case, Joint Proposed 12/16/2019 Jury Instructions, Joint Proposed Verdict Form

9. Final Pretrial Conference 01/03/2019 at 9:00 a.m.

10.Trial 01/15/2019 at 9:00 a.m.

C. Status Conferences

The parties will file a memorandum detailing the status of the case no less than 

seven days prior to the scheduled status conference.

1. Fourth Status Conference 09/23/2019 at 9:00 a.m.

 

5 Although the government’s initial compliance with Rule 16 discovery has passed, as 

noted in the existing scheduling order, if additional records are discovered by, or disclosed 

to the government during pretrial preparation or otherwise, pursuant to Rule 16(c), Fed. R. 

Crim. P., the government shall promptly disclose any additional documentary evidence or 

materials to the defense as soon as practicable after such disclosure or discovery occurs.

6 The government agrees that Defendants should have the ability to supplement both their production of 26.2 materials and exhibit and witness lists after they receive the server data 

from the government in mid-July, but believe Defendants can make all disclosures now that are unrelated to the forthcoming server data.

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Respectfully submitted this 31st day of May, 2019.

BRIAN BENCZKOWSKI

Assistant Attorney General

Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice

s/Reginald E. Jones

REGINALD E. JONES

Senior Trial Attorney

U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division

Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section

MICHAEL BAILEY

United States Attorney

District of Arizona

KEVIN M. RAPP

MARGARET PERLMETER

PETER S. KOZINETS

ANDREW C. STONE

JOHN J. KUCERA

Assistant U.S. Attorneys

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on this date, May 31, 2019, I transmitted the foregoing under- seal document for filing to the Clerk of the United States District Court and sent a copy via 

electronic mail to: Paul J. Cambria Jr. Esq. and Erin e. McCambpell, Esq., Lipsitz Green 

Scime Cambria, LLC, 42 Deleware Ave, Suite 120, Buffalo, NY 14202, 

pcambria@lglaw.com and emccampbell@lglaw.com, Thomas H. Bienert, Jr., Esq., Whitney Bernstein, Esq., Bienart, Miller & Katzman, PLC, 903 Calle Amanecer, Suite 

350, San Clemente, CA 92673, tbisconti@bmkattorneys.com, wbernstein@bmkattorneys.com; Jessica Ring Amunson, Jenner &block LLP, 1099 New York Ave., NW, Ste. 900, Washington DC., jamunson@jenner.com; Jim Grant Esq., Davis Wright Termaine, LLP, 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 2200, Seattle, WA 98101, 

jimgrant@dwt.com; Michael D. Kimerer, Esq. and Rhonda Elaine Neff, Esq., 1313 E. Osborn Road, Suite 100, Phoenix, AZ 85014, MDK@kimerer.com and

rneff@kimerer.com; david@deisenbergplc.com, David S. Eisenberg PLC, PC, 3550 N Central Ave.,Ste. 1155,Phoenix, AZ 85012; Robert Corn-Revere Esq., Davis Wright Termaine, LLP, 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C., 20006, 

bobcornrevere@dwt.com; Bruce Feder, Esq., 2930 East Camelback Road, Suite 160, Phoenix, AZ 85016, bf@federlawpa.com; Gary Linenberg, Esq., Ariel Neuman, Esq., Gopi K. Panchapakesan, Esq., Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks, Lincenberg 

& Rhow, P.C., 1875 Century Park East, 23rd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90067, 

glincenberg@birdmarella.com, aan@birdmarella.com, gkp@birdmarella.com.

s/ Angela Schuetta

Angela Schuetta

U.S. Attorney’s Office

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