A Virginia man who co-created and operated “Empire Market”—a dark web marketplace that enabled users to anonymously buy and sell illegal goods and services—has pleaded guilty in Chicago to a federal drug conspiracy charge.
Raheim Hamilton, 30, of Suffolk, Va., entered the guilty plea on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The conviction is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum of life. U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger set sentencing for June 17, 2026.
Hamilton and Thomas Pavey co-owned and operated Empire Market from 2018 to 2020. During that time, the online market facilitated more than 4 million transactions between vendors and buyers valued at more than $430 million, making it one of the largest dark web marketplaces of its kind at the time.
Hamilton Plea Agreement by scott.mcclallen
The illegal products and services available on the site included controlled substances, compromised or stolen account credentials, stolen personally identifying information, counterfeit currency, and computer-hacking tools. Sales of controlled substances were the most prevalent activity, with net drug sales totaling nearly $375 million over the life of the site.
Hamilton admitted in a plea agreement that he and Pavey designed Empire Market to help its users avoid detection by law enforcement and to assist users with laundering money from the illicit transactions.
Hamilton and Pavey established that all transactions on the site must be conducted using only cryptocurrency. As part of the plea agreement, Hamilton agreed to forfeit certain ill-gotten proceeds, including, among things, approximately 1,230 bitcoin and 24.4 Ether, as well as three properties in Virginia.
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Pavey, 40, of Ormond Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty last year to a federal drug conspiracy charge and admitted his role in creating and operating Empire Market. Pavey is awaiting sentencing. He faces the same maximum sentence as Hamilton.
Pavey agreed to forfeit certain ill-gotten proceeds, including, among things, approximately 1,584 bitcoin, two boxes containing 25-ounce gold bars, three automobiles, and two properties in Florida.
The guilty plea was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, Mary Johnson, Acting Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melody Wells and Ann Marie Ursini.
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