A Virginia man involved in facilitating millions of drug transactions, totaling around $430 million, has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison and has agreed to forfeit 1,230 bitcoins valued at approximately $101 million.
Details of the Case
Raheim Hamilton, the co-creator of the dark web drug platform Empire Market, faced significant legal consequences for his actions. His associate, Thomas Pavey, had previously forfeited nearly 1,600 bitcoins.
In addition to the forfeiture of bitcoin, Hamilton also agreed to surrender 24.4 ether, worth about $60,000, and three real estate properties, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. A federal judge in Chicago issued the sentence and imposed a $5 million fine on Hamilton.
Hamilton and Pavey operated Empire Market from 2018 until 2020, during which time the platform facilitated over 4 million drug transactions. Prosecutors indicated that drug sales alone accounted for nearly $375 million of the more than $430 million in total activity on the site.
Pavey, 41, from Ormond Beach, Florida, admitted his guilt in a federal drug conspiracy charge last year and agreed to forfeit additional assets, including two boxes of gold bars, three vehicles, and two properties in Florida. He is scheduled for sentencing later this month.
The operation mandated users to conduct transactions in cryptocurrency and recommended the use of mixing services to disguise the flow of funds, as noted by the Justice Department. The total drug-related sales accounted for a substantial portion of the website's overall transactions.
In a related case, Ruis-Sian Lin, alleged operator of the dark web narcotics marketplace Incognito Market, received a 30-year sentence in U.S. federal prison in February.
Earlier, the U.S. government seized $400 million in assets, including cryptocurrency, linked to the infamous darknet bitcoin mixing service Helix, which had been utilized by criminals for money laundering.