On June 29, 2015, Tom Dart, the sheriff of Cook County, which contains the city of Chicago, sent an open letter to Visa, Mastercard, and other payment processors.</p><em>As the Sheriff of Cook County, a father and a caring citizen, I write to request that your institution immediately cease and desist from allowing your credit cards to be used to place ads on websites like Backpage.com.</em><p>Backpage is sometimes referred to as “America’s largest escort website,” especially since Craigslist (sort of) no longer hosts adult ads—which, by the way, is a direct consequence of Dart’s (ultimately failed) 2009 lawsuit against Craigslist. </p><p>When the sheriff decided to go after Backpage, he didn’t bother suing them—he instead sent this letter to their payment processors. </p><p>“Your [credit] cards have and will continue to be used to buy ads that sell children for sex on sites like Backpage.com," Dart wrote. He then cited the anti-money-laundering statute 18 USC 1956, claiming that "The use of credit cards in this violent industry implies an undeserved credibility and sense of normalcy to such illicit transactions and only serves to increase demand.”
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