Chicago, Illinois — A Virginia man accused of co-creating and operating a massive dark web marketplace that processed more than $430 million in illegal transactions has pleaded guilty to a federal drug conspiracy charge in Chicago.
Federal prosecutors said Raheim Hamilton, 30, of Suffolk, Virginia, entered the guilty plea Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Hamilton was charged alongside Thomas Pavey, 40, who previously admitted his role in running Empire Market, a dark web platform used globally to buy and sell illegal goods and services.
According to court filings, Hamilton and Pavey operated Empire Market from 2018 to 2020 after previously selling counterfeit U.S. currency on the now-defunct AlphaBay marketplace. Prosecutors said Empire Market was designed to help users evade law enforcement through anonymizing software and cryptocurrency-based transactions.
Authorities estimate the platform facilitated roughly $375 million in drug sales alone, with vendors also offering counterfeit currency, stolen credit card information, and malware. Buyers could browse listings by category, complete purchases using cryptocurrency, and leave ratings and reviews for sellers, prosecutors said.
As part of his plea agreement, Hamilton admitted helping design the marketplace to avoid detection and to assist users in laundering proceeds from illegal activity. He now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and could receive up to life.
Pavey, who pleaded guilty last year, is awaiting sentencing and has agreed to forfeit bitcoin, gold bars, vehicles, and Florida properties tied to the case.
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