Resolves long-running Mugshots.com extortion case — Plea deal

Sahar Sarid and co-defendants sentenced to probation.

The three remaining defendants in a California criminal case involving Mugshots.com have been sentenced following entering into a plea agreement.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra disclosed charges of extortion, money laundering, and identity theft against the four alleged operators in 2018.

As stated by Becerra’s office, the site published mugshots of people who had been arrested ahead of they were convicted, and then operated a pay-for-removal scheme through associated services.

One of the defendants, David Usdan, entered into a plea agreement in 2022, pleading guilty to being an accessory following the fact.

The other three defendants — Sahar Sarid, Kishore Bhavnanie, and Thomas Keesee — were sentenced on Monday, May 5, 2025, following pleading nolo contendere to charges of identity theft and attempted extortion.

Each was sentenced to one year of summary probation and ordered to pay a share of $78,000 in restitution, in addition to court fees and assessments. The court applied credits for time served in 2018, and none of the defendants will serve additional jail time.

Sarid was a well-known domain name investor at the time of his arrest.

A notice right now displayed at the top of Mugshots.com states that it is a news organization and that it does not accept payment to remove mugshots.