Empire Market co-creator gets 40 years in US prison

Raheim Hamilton, the co-creator of the dark web marketplace Empire Market, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. Between 2018 and 2020, the site processed $430 million in illegal transactions.

Hamilton is 30 years old and used the online handles "Sydney" and "ZeroAngel." He owned and ran Empire Market from August 2017 until 2020. That year the site shut down without warning after repeated waves of DDoS attacks tied to extortion. Users had no chance to withdraw funds held in escrow, which led to accusations that the operators had pulled an exit scam.

From AlphaBay vendor to marketplace owner

Before he launched his own platform, Hamilton sold goods on AlphaBay as "ZeroAngel" from June 2016 to July 2017. AlphaBay was one of the best-known dark web markets until it closed in 2017.

Empire Market was built and promoted as an AlphaBay clone. It ran as a hidden service on the dark web and could only be reached through the TOR browser.

Hamilton operated the site with co-defendant Thomas Pavey, known online as "Dopenugget." Pavey pleaded guilty last year to a federal drug conspiracy charge. Together, the two facilitated more than 4 million transactions between vendors and buyers.

Drugs drove most of the business

The market listed counterfeit currency, stolen account credentials, hacking tools and personally identifiable information. Drugs, however, made up most of the trade. Drug sales came to nearly $375 million over the life of the site, and controlled substances alone accounted for more than 166,000 listings.

The US Department of Justice listed some of the quantities involved:

"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 department said.

The platform peaked in August 2020. At that point it had roughly 1.68 million unique registered users, including more than 5,000 vendors and nearly 360,000 buyers.

Built to dodge law enforcement

Hamilton pleaded guilty in January. He admitted that Empire Market was designed to help users evade law enforcement and launder money. All payments had to be made in cryptocurrency to keep users anonymous.

"Hamilton and Pavey established that all transactions on the site must be conducted using only cryptocurrency. They encouraged users to use tumbling and mixing services to conceal cryptocurrency transactions and utilize encryption while communicating on the site. They also allowed users to rate vendors based on how well the vendors concealed the drugs they shipped," the DOJ said.

According to court documents, the pair also hired moderators to settle disputes between customers and vendors. Hamilton supervised about five moderators and handled some cases himself.

Undercover buys and seized assets

The plea agreement shows that investigators made several undercover purchases on the site between April 2019 and May 2020. They bought at least 143.5 grams of methamphetamine and 105.4 grams of heroin. Agents also intercepted a package ordered on Empire Market that contained 443.5 grams of methamphetamine.

The Justice Department charged both men in July 2024. At that time it said authorities had already seized $75 million worth of cryptocurrency during the investigation.

Hamilton has agreed to forfeit three properties in Virginia, about 1,230 bitcoin and 24.4 Ether. Pavey has agreed to forfeit two properties in Florida, around 1,584 bitcoin, two boxes holding 25-ounce gold bars, and three cars. He is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

The Bigger Picture

A 40-year sentence is a strong signal. US prosecutors and courts treat the people who run criminal marketplaces as more than middlemen. Hamilton built the infrastructure, set the rules and hired staff to keep the business running, and the court's penalty reflects that role.

The case also shows how long these investigations can take. Empire Market went dark in 2020, charges came in 2024, and the sentence arrived in 2026. Undercover purchases and cryptocurrency tracing seem to have produced enough evidence to secure seizures and forfeitures years after the site closed. This suggests that heavy reliance on cryptocurrency, mixers and encryption did not protect the operators in the long run. Operators of illicit platforms may come to see that as a lasting risk.

For readers who follow enforcement trends, the sentence fits a steady run of US prosecutions of cybercrime figures. These range from the alleged developer of the Ploutus ATM malware to cross-border cases such as the Qilin ransomware suspect sent to Germany.

One thing to watch is the sentence Pavey receives later this month. It will show whether the court treats both co-founders the same way. It is also worth watching whether the forfeited crypto holdings can be traced further and linked to other actors in the dark web economy.