Empire Market Co-Creator Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison
Raheim Hamilton, the co-owner and operator of the dark web marketplace Empire Market, has been handed a 40-year prison sentence following an investigation into illegal transactions totaling $430 million between 2018 and 2020.
Radwan AbdulhadiEditor and technology writer
Sentencing of Empire Market Co-Founder
The co-creator of Empire Market, one of the largest dark web marketplaces before its shutdown, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for facilitating $430 million in illegal transactions from 2018 to 2020.
Thirty-year-old Raheim Hamilton, who also operated online under the handles "Sydney" and "ZeroAngel," owned and managed Empire Market from August 2017 until its abrupt shutdown in 2020 amid persistent extortion-based DDoS waves. These cyber attacks prompted exit-scam claims after registered users were not given adequate time to withdraw funds from their escrow accounts.
Operations and Background on the Dark Web
Empire Market operated as a hidden service on the dark web, accessible exclusively through TOR browsers. The marketplace was modeled and advertised directly as an AlphaBay clone. Before launching Empire Market, Hamilton sold items on AlphaBay under the same "ZeroAngel" username between June 2016 and July 2017, prior to that marketplace being shut down in 2017.
Working alongside co-defendant Thomas Pavey, who used the alias "Dopenugget," Hamilton facilitated more than 4 million transactions between vendors and buyers. Pavey pleaded guilty last year to a federal drug conspiracy charge and is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
Illegal Goods, Drug Trafficking, and Scale
Although the cybercrime marketplace also featured listings for counterfeit currency, stolen account credentials, computer hacking tools, and personally identifiable information, illegal drug sales represented by far the most prevalent activity. Controlled substance listings totaled nearly $375 million over the site's entire lifespan, encompassing over 166,000 specific drug listings.
At its operational peak in August 2020, the platform supported roughly 1.68 million unique registered users, which included over 5,000 active vendors and nearly 360,000 buyers.
Guilty Plea and Law Enforcement Details
When he pleaded guilty in January, Hamilton explicitly admitted that Empire Market was architected to help users evade detection by law enforcement and launder money. All transactions across the platform were conducted strictly in cryptocurrency to maintain user anonymity.
Specific illicit drugs sold on the market included at least 13,314.23 grams of fentanyl, 446,683.15 grams of cocaine, 71,992.33 grams of methamphetamine, and 103,396.21 grams of heroin, according to details provided by the Department of Justice.
Cryptocurrency Enforcement and Forfeitures
Court documents outline that the two co-conspirators hired moderators to resolve disputes between customers and vendors. Hamilton personally supervised roughly five moderators and handled select dispute cases himself.
The formal plea agreement noted that law enforcement agents completed multiple undercover purchases between April 2019 and May 2020, buying at least 143.5 grams of methamphetamine and 105.4 grams of heroin. Authorities also intercepted a separate package containing 443.5 grams of methamphetamine ordered directly through Empire Market.
When federal prosecutors charged the defendants, they announced that authorities had already seized $75 million worth of cryptocurrency during the expansive investigation. As part of his resolution, Hamilton agreed to forfeit three properties located in Virginia, alongside approximately 1,230 bitcoin and 24.4 Ether.
Sources
- BleepingComputerOwner of Empire cybercrime market gets 40 years in prison
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