Security1 publisherNot yet confirmed elsewhere2 min readPublished
Empire Market co-creator gets 40 years for $430 million market built mostly on drugs
Raheim Hamilton, co-creator of Empire Market, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for facilitating $430 million in illegal dark-web trade from 2018 to 2020. The published case rests on narcotics, and stolen credentials and hacking tools were a small part of what the site sold.
The Watch · Security desk
What happened
- Drug sales made up nearly $375 million across more than 166,000 controlled-substance listings, and the site also sold stolen credentials, hacking tools, counterfeit currency and personal data.
- At its August 2020 peak, Empire had roughly 1.68 million registered users, including more than 5,000 vendors and nearly 360,000 buyers.
- Empire went offline in 2020 amid extortion-based DDoS waves, and users who could not withdraw escrow funds accused the operators of an exit scam.
- The Justice Department charged Hamilton and co-defendant Thomas Pavey in July 2024 and said $75 million in cryptocurrency had already been seized.
Compiled by The WatchSomething wrong?How this is made
Why it matters
- precedent Prosecutors treated the market's design as the operators' own conduct, so building a site for evasion carries the exposure regardless of how much of the catalogue is cyber goods.
- constraint The case says little about how courts sentence trade in stolen credentials or hacking tools, since the quantities the government published are drug weights.
- decision Defenders have no action to take: Empire stopped trading in 2020, so this sentence removes no live supply of credentials or tooling.
Taking the drug sales out of the $430 million total leaves about $55 million [16]. That remainder covers counterfeit currency, stolen account credentials, computer hacking tools and personal data combined [6]. Drugs were about 87 percent of the volume [17]. The reporting does not split the rest by category.
The government's published evidence is drug evidence. "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 of Justice said [9]. Undercover agents bought at least 143.5 grams of methamphetamine and 105.4 grams of heroin on the site between April 2019 and May 2020, and intercepted a package holding 443.5 grams of methamphetamine [12]. Pavey pleaded guilty last year to a federal drug conspiracy charge [5]. The account does not tie any part of Hamilton's 40 years to the credential or hacking-tool listings.
The record does pin the platform's design on the operators. Hamilton admitted in his January guilty plea that Empire was built to help users avoid law enforcement detection and launder money, with every transaction in cryptocurrency [8]. The DOJ described the rules the pair set: "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." [10] The two hired moderators to settle disputes between buyers and vendors. Hamilton supervised about five of them and handled some cases himself [11]. Over the site's life the pair facilitated more than 4 million transactions [5].
Hamilton came to Empire from the market it copied. He sold on AlphaBay as "ZeroAngel" between June 2016 and July 2017, and AlphaBay shut down in 2017 [3]. Empire, a hidden service reachable only through Tor, was modeled and advertised as an AlphaBay clone [4].
Hamilton agreed to forfeit three Virginia properties, about 1,230 bitcoin and 24.4 Ether [14]. Pavey agreed to forfeit two Florida properties, about 1,584 bitcoin, two boxes containing 25-ounce gold bars and three cars [15]. Combined bitcoin forfeiture across the two is about 2,814 coins [18].
What to watch
- Pavey's sentencing later this month, on a drug-conspiracy plea from the same market, will show whether a second operator draws a term near Hamilton's 40 years.
- Release of Hamilton's judgment or plea papers naming his counts would show whether any charge rests on the credential, hacking-tool or personal-data listings.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+8
- Incentives
- Insufficient
- Confidence66
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Raheim Hamilton, co-creator of Empire Market, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for facilitating $430 million in illegal transactions from 2018 to 2020.
- [2]
Hamilton, 30, known online as "Sydney" and "ZeroAngel", owned and operated Empire Market from August 2017 until its abrupt shutdown in 2020 amid persistent extortion-based DDoS waves, which prompted exit-scam claims after users were not given time to withdraw funds from escrow accounts.
- [3]
Between June 2016 and July 2017, Hamilton sold on AlphaBay under the username "ZeroAngel"; AlphaBay shut down in 2017.
- [4]
Empire Market operated as a hidden service accessible only via Tor and was modeled and advertised as an AlphaBay clone.
- [5]
Together with co-defendant Thomas Pavey (aka "Dopenugget"), who pleaded guilty last year to a federal drug conspiracy charge, Hamilton facilitated more than 4 million transactions between vendors and buyers.
- [6]
Empire Market also sold counterfeit currency, stolen account credentials, computer hacking tools and personally identifiable information, but drug sales were the most prevalent activity, totaling nearly $375 million over the site's lifespan with over 166,000 listings for controlled substances.
- [7]
At its peak in August 2020, Empire Market had roughly 1.68 million unique registered users, including more than 5,000 vendors and nearly 360,000 buyers.
- [8]
When he pleaded guilty in January, Hamilton admitted Empire Market was designed to help users avoid law enforcement detection and launder money, with all transactions conducted in cryptocurrency.
- [9]
"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 of Justice said.
- [10]
"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."
- [11]
According to court documents, Hamilton and Pavey hired moderators to resolve disputes between customers and vendors; Hamilton supervised approximately 5 moderators and personally handled some cases.
- [12]
Law enforcement agents made multiple undercover purchases between April 2019 and May 2020, buying at least 143.5 grams of methamphetamine and 105.4 grams of heroin, and intercepted a package containing 443.5 grams of methamphetamine ordered on Empire Market.
- [13]
When the U.S. Justice Department charged Hamilton and Pavey in July 2024, it announced authorities had already seized $75 million worth of cryptocurrency during the investigation.
- [14]
Hamilton agreed to forfeit three Virginia properties and approximately 1,230 bitcoin and 24.4 Ether.
- [15]
Pavey, who will be sentenced later this month, agreed to forfeit two Florida properties, approximately 1,584 bitcoin, two boxes containing 25-ounce gold bars, and three cars.
- [16]
Non-drug sales on Empire Market totaled about $55 million.
- [17]
Drug sales were about 87 percent of Empire Market's facilitated volume.
- [18]
Hamilton and Pavey together agreed to forfeit about 2,814 bitcoin.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- bleepingcomputer.comOwner of Empire cybercrime market gets 40 years in prison
2 articles · October 8, 2026
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