Overview
- Raheim Hamilton, one of the founders of the Empire Market on the dark web, has received a 40-year prison sentence and a $5 million fine.
- The marketplace enabled over four million transactions totaling more than $430 million from 2018 to 2020, all conducted using cryptocurrency.
- Hamilton will forfeit approximately 1,230 Bitcoin, while co-founder Thomas Pavey is expected to be sentenced later this month.
Raheim Hamilton, a co-founder of the Empire Market darknet platform, has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old from Suffolk, Virginia, was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger in Chicago and was also fined $5 million. Earlier this year, Hamilton pleaded guilty to a charge related to drug conspiracy.
Co-Creator of Dark Web Marketplace Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal Prison @FBIChicago @USPIS_CHI @HSINewYorkhttps://t.co/WWWyGnkp8C
— U.S. Attorney’s Office (NDIL) (@NDILnews) October 7, 2026
From 2018 to 2020, Hamilton and co-founder Thomas Pavey operated the Empire Market, which facilitated over four million transactions worth more than $430 million between buyers and sellers.
The majority of the sales were drug-related, accounting for nearly $375 million, including at least 13.3 kilograms of fentanyl, 447 kilograms of cocaine, and 103 kilograms of heroin. Additionally, the marketplace offered stolen account details, personal data, counterfeit money, and hacking tools.
Transactions on the site were exclusively conducted in cryptocurrency, with Hamilton and Pavey urging users to utilize mixing services to obscure their financial activities. They also allowed buyers to rate vendors based on how well they concealed the drugs in their shipments.
As part of his sentencing, Hamilton agreed to forfeit around 1,230 BTC, 24.4 ETH, and three properties located in Virginia.
Closure of Empire Market
Launched in February 2018, Empire Market quickly rose to prominence in the Western darknet ecosystem, following the shutdown of AlphaBay, as noted by blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs.
In August 2020, the site went offline, with many users suspecting it was an exit scam involving $30 million. Analysts had anticipated that this would lead to increased cryptocurrency activity in darknet markets.
Earlier this year, Rui-Siang Lin, who operated the Incognito Market, was sentenced to 30 years for managing a platform that facilitated over $105 million in drug sales.
Co-founder Thomas Pavey, 41, from Ormond Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty to a federal drug conspiracy charge last year. He agreed to forfeit approximately 1,584 BTC, two boxes of 25-ounce gold bars, three vehicles, and two properties in Florida, and he is scheduled for sentencing by Seeger later this month.