Empire Market co-creator sentenced to 40 years

Raheim Hamilton received 40 years for co-running Empire Market, tied to roughly $430 million in dark-web sales.

Raheim Hamilton, 30, of Suffolk, Virginia, was sentenced on October 5 in Chicago to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine after pleading guilty to a drug conspiracy for co-creating and operating the dark-web marketplace Empire Market. Sources disagree on the start year: one says the market ran from 2017 to 2020, while the other says from 2018 to 2020. With co-defendant Thomas Pavey, Hamilton enabled more than four million cryptocurrency transactions worth roughly or over $430 million, including nearly $375 million in sales of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin. Listings also covered stolen credentials, personal data, counterfeit currency, and hacking tools; at its peak the market had about 1.68 million registered users, more than 5,000 vendors, and over 166,000 controlled-substance listings, and operators required cryptocurrency while encouraging mixing or tumbling. Hamilton agreed to forfeit three Virginia properties, about 1,230 bitcoin, and 24.4 ether, and authorities seized $75 million in cryptocurrency during the investigation. Pavey has pleaded guilty and is due to be sentenced later this month.

• Raheim Hamilton, 30, of Suffolk, Virginia, was sentenced on October 5 in Chicago to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine after pleading guilty to a drug conspiracy.
• He co-created and operated dark-web marketplace Empire Market until 2020; sources disagree on whether it began in 2017 or 2018.
• With Thomas Pavey, the market handled more than 4 million cryptocurrency transactions worth roughly or over $430 million, including nearly $375 million in drug sales.
• Peak figures reported include about 1.68 million registered users, more than 5,000 vendors, and over 166,000 controlled-substance listings.
• Goods listed included fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, stolen credentials, personal data, counterfeit currency, and hacking tools; buyers used crypto and operators encouraged mixing or tumbling.
• Hamilton agreed to forfeit three Virginia properties, about 1,230 bitcoin, and 24.4 ether; authorities seized $75 million in cryptocurrency during the investigation.
• Co-defendant Thomas Pavey pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing later this month.