Nationl News: Deadline for seeking compensation by victims of online sex trafficking expires March 31

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The U.S. Department of Justice has established a website for the Backpage Remission Program at backpageremission.com. The FBI urges survivors of sex trafficking who were advertised on Backpage or CityXGuide and suffered financial losses to apply for compensation before the March 31, 2026 deadline

Federal officials launched the program in July 2025 to help victims recover losses from trafficking facilitated by these sites between 2004 and 2020. The Department of Justice forfeited about $200 million in assets from Backpage and CityXGuide. These funds are available to compensate survivors for eligible expenses like medical care, counseling, and lost income.The FBI, DOJ, and partner agencies aim to reach all affected victims.

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 noted that documentation is key, such as medical records, receipts, emails, or records of online ads. However, gathering proof can be challenging due to common use of aliases, burner phones, and fake numbers in trafficking situations.

Partner groups like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) help survivors. NCMEC created the Backpage Survivor Remission Network to connect eligible people with resources. The group launched outreach on September 4, 2025, and by early December 2025 had linked more than 370 survivors with pro bono lawyers from about 35 national firms.

"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

. Survivors can file petitions on their own, but free help is available to guide them.Backpage.com operated as a major classified ads site from 2004 until 2018. Criminals used it to facilitate commercial sex and sex trafficking, including of minors. Federal authorities seized the site in April 2018, leading to criminal charges and civil forfeitures.

Owners and administrators were convicted of offenses like conspiring to facilitate unlawful commercial sex and money laundering. Several received federal prison sentences.

CityXGuide served as a successor site after Backpage's shutdown.Data from seized Backpage records dates back to 2004, but reliability varies due to aliases, obscured photos, and old contact info.

The DOJ has conducted digital campaigns on social media and contacted over 100 nonprofits to reach victims.Eligibility covers trafficking facilitated by ads on Backpage.com from January 1, 2004, to April 6, 2018, and on CityXGuide from April 8, 2018, to June 19, 2020. Victims, representatives, or estates of deceased victims can file petitions online, by mail, or through the administrator. No fees or payments are required to participate.

For details, visit backpageremission.com or contact the Remission Administrator at 1-888-859-9206 (toll-free) or 1-971-316-5053 (international).

The program is legitimate, and any requests for payment are scams .For immediate help with trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.