Dark web drug market operator sentenced to 40 years, forfeits $101 million in bitcoin
Raheim Hamilton was sentenced to 40 years in prison for operating the dark web marketplace 'Empire Market,' which facilitated over $430 million in illegal transactions. Hamilton and his co-conspirator were ordered to forfeit millions in cryptocurrency and assets.
Why it matters
This case demonstrates the U.S. government's ongoing efforts to dismantle dark web criminal enterprises and recover illicitly gained cryptocurrency assets.
His co-conspirator Thomas Pavey forfeited 1,584 bitcoin last year.
Raheim Hamilton, 30, of Suffolk, Virginia, also agreed to forfeit 24.4 ether worth about $60,000 and three properties, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. A federal judge in Chicago sentenced Hamilton on Monday and imposed a $5 million fine.
Hamilton and Pavey operated Empire Market from 2018 to 2020. Their site facilitated more than 4 million drug transactions worth upwards of $430 million, prosecutors said. They also said Hamilton and Pavey sold stolen account credentials, personal data, counterfeit currency and hacking tools.
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