Co-creator of Empire Market dark web marketplace given 40-year sentence
Raheim Hamilton received a 40-year sentence for co-running Empire Market, which handled $430 million in dark-web sales.
U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger sentenced Raheim Hamilton, 30, to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine for co-creating Empire Market. Hamilton pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy and agreed to forfeit more than $100 million in Bitcoin plus Virginia properties. With Thomas Pavey, he ran the dark-web market from February 2018 until it vanished in 2020, processing more than 4 million transactions worth about $430 million, including roughly $375 million in drug sales. Prosecutors said the operators also took an estimated $30 million in bitcoin from users; Pavey pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
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