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Security Reports disagree7 publishers 2 min read Published Updated

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

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Illustration accompanying Empire Market co-creator gets 40 years for $430 million market built mostly on drugs
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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.

Why it matters

  • What it sets up 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.
  • What it limits 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.
  • Who has to decide 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 [14]. That remainder covers counterfeit currency, stolen account credentials, computer hacking tools and personal data combined [5]. Drugs were about 87 percent of the volume [15]. 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 [11]. 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 [4]. 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 [6]. 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." [7] The two hired moderators to settle disputes between buyers and vendors. Hamilton supervised about five of them and handled some cases himself [13]. Over the site's life the pair facilitated more than 4 million transactions [4].

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 [2]. Empire, a hidden service reachable only through Tor, was modeled and advertised as an AlphaBay clone [3].

Hamilton agreed to forfeit three Virginia properties, about 1,230 bitcoin and 24.4 Ether [8]. Pavey agreed to forfeit two Florida properties, about 1,584 bitcoin, two boxes containing 25-ounce gold bars and three cars [9]. Combined bitcoin forfeiture across the two is about 2,814 coins [16].

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

Evidence85
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+10
Incentives35
Confidence80

Perspective Coverage

8 publishers
Builder
Builder 12%
Operator
Operator 60%
Investor
Investor 28%
Why these scores

Claim ledger

Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.

  1. [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.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  2. [2]

    Between June 2016 and July 2017, Hamilton sold on AlphaBay under the username "ZeroAngel"; AlphaBay shut down in 2017.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  3. [3]

    Empire Market operated as a hidden service accessible only via Tor and was modeled and advertised as an AlphaBay clone.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  4. [4]

    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.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  5. [5]

    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.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  6. [6]

    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.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  7. [7]

    "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."

    Reported Supported Source: U.S. Department of Justice, as quoted by BleepingComputerView cited source
  8. [8]

    Hamilton agreed to forfeit three Virginia properties and approximately 1,230 bitcoin and 24.4 Ether.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  9. [9]

    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.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  10. [10]

    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.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  11. [11]

    "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.

    Reported Supported Source: U.S. Department of Justice, as quoted by BleepingComputerView cited source
  12. [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.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  13. [13]

    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.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  14. [14]

    Non-drug sales on Empire Market totaled about $55 million.

    Derived Supported
  15. [15]

    Drug sales were about 87 percent of Empire Market's facilitated volume.

    Derived Supported
  16. [16]

    Hamilton and Pavey together agreed to forfeit about 2,814 bitcoin.

    Derived Supported
  17. [17]

    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.

    Reported ContestedView cited source
  18. [18]

    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.

    Reported ContestedView cited source

Sources

7 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.

  1. bleepingcomputer.com

    2 articles · October 8, 2026

    Owner of Empire cybercrime market gets 40 years in prison
  2. coindesk.com

    1 article · October 9, 2026

    Dark web drug market operator sentenced to 40 years, forfeits $101 million in bitcoin
  3. decrypt.co

    1 article · October 9, 2026

    Empire Market Co-Creator Sentenced to 40 Years Over $430M Dark Web Bazaar
  4. justice.gov

    1 article · October 7, 2026

    Northern District of Illinois | Co-Creator of Dark Web Marketplace Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal Prison | United States Department of Justice
  5. news.bitcoin.com

    1 article · October 8, 2026

    Dark Web Market Founder Gets 40 Years, Agrees to Forfeit 1,230 Bitcoin
  6. scworld.com

    1 article · October 9, 2026

    Empire Market co-creator sentenced to 40 years for facilitating $430 million in illegal sales
  7. securityaffairs.com

    1 article · October 10, 2026

    US Sentences Empire Market Co-Creator Over $430 Million Criminal Marketplace
  8. therecord.media

    1 article · October 9, 2026

    Co-creator of Empire Market dark web marketplace given 40-year sentence

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