Raheim Hamilton, a co-creator of the darknet marketplace Empire Market, has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison and fined $5 million after pleading guilty to a federal drug-conspiracy charge, U.S. authorities said.
According to Decrypt, Hamilton was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger in Chicago. The 30-year-old, who lived in Suffolk, Virginia, also agreed to forfeit cryptocurrency and property linked to the case.
A crypto-only marketplace
Empire Market operated from 2018 to 2020 and was co-owned and run by Hamilton and Thomas Pavey. During that period, the platform facilitated more than four million transactions worth over $430 million, with every payment made in cryptocurrency.
Drug transactions accounted for nearly $375 million of the marketplace’s activity. The indictment included sales involving at least 13.3 kilograms of fentanyl, 447 kilograms of cocaine and 103 kilograms of heroin.
The platform also offered stolen account credentials and personal data, counterfeit money and hacking tools. Hamilton and Pavey encouraged users to send funds through cryptocurrency tumblers and mixers, services designed to make the movement of coins more difficult to trace. Buyers could also rate vendors based on how effectively they concealed drugs during shipping.
Hamilton agreed to forfeit about 1,230 Bitcoin and 24.4 Ether, along with three properties in Virginia. The sentence includes the 40-year prison term and a $5 million fine.
Empire Market’s rise and collapse
Empire Market launched in February 2018, a few months after authorities shut down AlphaBay. Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs later identified Empire as the leading marketplace in the Western darknet ecosystem.
The site went offline in August 2020. Users believed its disappearance was a $30 million exit scam, in which operators allegedly removed funds before abandoning the platform. At the time, analysts expected additional cryptocurrency activity to move toward darknet markets.
The case illustrates the scale of transactions that can be conducted through a crypto-only marketplace, while also showing that cryptocurrency payments do not prevent law-enforcement action or asset seizures.
Co-defendant and crypto market picture
Pavey, 41, of Ormond Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty last year to a federal drug-conspiracy charge. He agreed to forfeit about 1,584 BTC, two boxes containing 25-ounce gold bars, three cars and two properties in Florida. Judge Seeger is expected to sentence him later this month.
In a separate case mentioned in the reporting, Rui-Siang Lin, who operated Incognito Market, was sentenced in February to 30 years in prison. That marketplace handled more than $105 million in narcotics sales.
Moneyiar market data at 11:08-11:09 on October 9, 2026, showed Bitcoin at $82489.294326055, up 0.03% over 24 hours but down 4.55% over seven days. Monad was priced at $0.0244295781, down 3.97% in 24 hours and 27.92% over seven days. Sentient stood at $0.0229828954, down 12.24% over 24 hours and up 8.73% over seven days, while Ontology was $0.0615041783, up 4.3% and 2.86% over those periods, respectively.
