A major dark web marketplace that handled more than 4 million transactions worth $430 million has led to a lengthy prison sentence for its co-founder, Raheim Hamilton. He has been sentenced to 40 years in prison and fined $5 million for his role in operating Empire Market, which shut down in 2020.
The marketplace operated from 2018 to 2020 and allowed users to anonymously buy and sell illegal goods and services. These included controlled substances, stolen account credentials and personal information, counterfeit currency, and computer-hacking tools.
Hamilton used the online names “Sydney” and “ZeroAngel”. Prosecutors said he ran the platform with Thomas Pavey, 41, of Ormond Beach, Florida, who was known as “Dopenugget”.
Millions of users and illegal transactions
Empire Market was promoted as a clone of AlphaBay, another dark web marketplace where Hamilton sold products under the “ZeroAngel” name between June 2016 and July 2017. Access to Empire required The Onion Router (TOR), rather than standard browsers such as Chrome or Safari.
Drug sales accounted for nearly $375 million in transactions, with more than 166,000 listings for controlled substances. At its peak in August 2020, Empire had around 1.68 million registered users, including more than 5,000 vendors and nearly 360,000 buyers.
“The controlled substances sold on the market included approximately 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,” the US Department of Justice said. “Hamilton and Pavey established that all transactions on the site must be conducted using only cryptocurrency.”
The operators also encouraged users to conceal cryptocurrency transactions and use encryption. Buyers could rate vendors on how well they “concealed the drugs they shipped.” Hamilton supervised about 5 moderators who handled disputes and personally resolved some cases.
Undercover operations and asset seizures
Between April 2019 and May 2020, investigators made undercover purchases of at least 143.5 grams of methamphetamine and 105.4 grams of heroin. They also intercepted a package containing 443.5 grams of methamphetamine ordered through Empire.
When the 2 men were charged in July 2024, authorities had seized $75 million in cryptocurrency. Hamilton agreed to forfeit around 1,230 Bitcoin worth roughly $100 million, 24.4 Ether worth about $60,000, and 3 properties in Virginia.
Pavey pleaded guilty last year and agreed to surrender around 1,584 Bitcoin worth roughly $130 million, 2 boxes containing 25-ounce gold bars, 3 cars and 2 properties in Florida. He is due to be sentenced by Judge Seeger later this month.
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