RAHEIM Hamilton, co-founder of Empire Market, pleaded guilty in federal court in Illinois to a drug conspiracy charge and faces a mandatory 10 years to life in prison. According to the indictment, the dark web marketplace handled more than four million transactions worth over $430 million, with drug sales accounting for nearly $375 million and users able to pay with Bitcoin, Monero and Litecoin.
Hamilton admitted the site was built to evade law enforcement and to launder proceeds using cryptocurrency, agreeing to forfeit large amounts of Bitcoin, Ether and other properties as part of the plea. The charges against Hamilton and co-operator Thomas Pavey (also charged in June 2024) include drug trafficking, computer fraud, access device fraud, counterfeiting and money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
Sentencing for Hamilton is scheduled for 17 June 2026 following the investigation led by U.S. law enforcement agencies. Empire Market shut down in 2020, after which the two operators faced multiple federal charges related to running the platform from 2018 to 2020.