WASHINGTON The federal government on Friday seized Backpage.com as part of a law enforcement crackdown on the classifieds website that had come under fire because of its use as a marketplace for sex work.

A federal grand jury indictment that had been expected to be unsealed on Friday evening remained sealed as of Saturday morning, but an attorney for Michael Lacey the former editor of the Phoenix New Times and the founder of Backpage.com confirmed to the Arizona Republic that his client was one of those named in the 93-count indictment. FBI officials in Phoenix confirmed earlier on Friday that they had raided Laceys home.

The Republic reported that the home of Jim Larkin, the former publisher of New Times, was also the scene of an FBI search. The total number of defendants named in the sealed indictment is not currently public information.

A message on Backpage.com said the website had been seized as part of an enforcement action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, with analytical assistance from the Joint Regional Intelligence Center.