Empire Market operator sentenced to 40 years for $430M in illicit trade
Dark web seller will spend decades behind bars.
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- Raheim Hamilton received 40 years in federal prison for creating and operating Empire Market.
- Prosecutors said Empire Market handled over 4 million transactions worth more than $430 million.
- The marketplace sold illegal drugs, stolen data, counterfeit goods, and cybercrime tools.
- Co-creator Thomas Pavey pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing later this month.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
A Virginia man has to spend the next 40 years behind bars for creating and operating “Empire Market,” one of the largest illegal marketplaces on the dark web.
According to the US Department of Justice, Raheim Hamilton, a 30-year-old man from Suffolk, Virginia, co-owned and operated Empire Market from February 2018 to August 2020.
The illicit marketplace emerged after the 2017 takedowns of major dark-web marketplaces AlphaBay and Hansa, in an attempt to fill the gap left by those operations. Not long after, Empire Market became one of the largest marketplaces on the dark web.
Allegedly, Hamilton facilitated more than 4 million transactions between vendors and buyers valued at over $430 million.
Most of Empire Market’s fortune, about $375 million, was made by selling illegal drugs, including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl, LSD, and other controlled substances.
Vendors also offered stolen financial information, compromised account credentials, personal data, counterfeit goods, and cybercrime tools, such as hacking tools, malicious software, and other malware-related products.
The Justice Department claims that Hamilton and co-creator Thomas Pavey built Empire Market to help users avoid detection by law enforcement and assist them in laundering their illicit proceeds and transactions.
To do this, Empire Market offered tumbling and mixing services to conceal cryptocurrency transactions and utilized encryption while communicating on the website. To boost sales, buyers were allowed to rate vendors based on how well they concealed the drugs they shipped.
Earlier this year, Hamilton pleaded guilty in the US District Court in Chicago to a drug conspiracy charge. He agreed to forfeit ill-gotten proceeds, including 1,230 bitcoin, 24.4 ether, and 3 properties in Virginia.
Hamilton was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison. On top of that, he has to pay a $5 million fine.
His 40-year-old co-conspirator, Pavey, pleaded guilty to a federal drug conspiracy charge and admitted his role in creating and operating Empire Market. He agreed to give up 1,584 bitcoin, 2 boxes containing 25-ounce gold bars, 3 cars, and 2 properties in Florida.
Pavey will hear his sentencing later this month.
