Empire Market Co-Founder Sentenced to 40 Years in US Over Crypto Drug Trafficking
Summary
- A federal court in Chicago sentenced a co-founder of the dark-web marketplace Empire Market to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and forfeiture of criminal proceeds.
- Hamilton agreed to forfeit about 1,230 Bitcoin, 24.4 Ether and three properties.
- Investigators seized cryptocurrency worth about $75 million, along with cash and precious metals, in the case.
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A co-founder of Empire Market, a dark-web marketplace that accepted only cryptocurrency payments for illegal goods including drugs and personal data, has been sentenced in the US to 40 years in prison. He was also ordered to pay a $5 million fine, and authorities are pursuing forfeiture of criminal proceeds including Bitcoin.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said on October 7 that a federal court in Chicago sentenced Raheem Hamilton on October 5 to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. Hamilton pleaded guilty in January to a drug conspiracy charge.
Hamilton and co-founder Thomas Pavey operated Empire Market from 2018 to 2020. During that period, the platform handled more than 4 million transactions with total sales exceeding $430 million. Drug sales alone totaled about $375 million.
The platform sold fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. Stolen account credentials, personal information, counterfeit currency and hacking tools were also offered.
The operators required all transactions to be made in cryptocurrency to evade law enforcement. They encouraged users to use mixing services and encrypted communications to conceal transaction trails. The platform also allowed buyers to rate how well sellers packaged and hid drugs.
Hamilton agreed to forfeit about 1,230 Bitcoin, 24.4 Ether and three properties in Virginia acquired with criminal proceeds. Investigators in the case seized cryptocurrency worth about $75 million at the time, along with cash and precious metals.
Pavey is scheduled to be sentenced later this month. He pleaded guilty last year to a drug conspiracy charge and agreed to forfeit about 1,584 Bitcoin, gold bars, three vehicles and two properties in Florida.
