Key facts
- Raheim Hamilton, co-creator of Empire Market, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison.
- Hamilton was fined $5 million and agreed to forfeit 1,230 Bitcoin and 24.4 Ether.
- Empire Market facilitated over 4 million transactions worth more than $430 million between 2018 and 2020.
- Drug sales accounted for nearly $375 million of the total transactions.
- The marketplace required all transactions to be conducted in cryptocurrency.
- Co-creator Thomas Pavey is scheduled for sentencing later this month.
Raheim Hamilton, a co-creator of the darknet marketplace Empire Market, has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison and fined $5 million for his role in operating the illicit bazaar. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced the sentencing on Wednesday. Hamilton, 30, of Suffolk, Virginia, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a drug conspiracy charge. He was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger in Chicago. In addition to the prison term, Hamilton agreed to forfeit approximately 1,230 Bitcoin, 24.4 Ether, and three properties in Virginia.
Empire Market, co-owned and operated by Hamilton and Thomas Pavey from 2018 to 2020, facilitated over four million transactions valued at more than $430 million. The majority of these transactions, nearly $375 million, were for illegal drugs, including significant quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin. The site also offered stolen credentials, counterfeit currency, and hacking tools. Hamilton and Pavey mandated cryptocurrency payments for all transactions and encouraged the use of mixing services to obscure fund origins. Buyers were also able to rate vendors based on their ability to conceal shipments.
According to blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, Empire Market emerged as a leader in the Western darknet market ecosystem after the takedown of AlphaBay in 2018. The marketplace abruptly went offline in August 2020, leading users to suspect an exit scam totaling around $30 million.
Thomas Pavey, 41, of Ormond Beach, Florida, has also pleaded guilty to a federal drug conspiracy charge. He agreed to forfeit about 1,584 Bitcoin, gold bars, three cars, and two properties. Pavey is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Seeger later this month.