Co-Creator of Dark Web Marketplace Pleads Guilty in Chicago to Drug Conspiracy Charge

<p class="text-align-justify">CHICAGO — A Virginia man who co-created and operated “Empire Market”—a&nbsp;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.</p><p class="text-align-justify">RAHEIM HAMILTON, 30,&nbsp;of Suffolk, Va., entered the guilty plea on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.&nbsp; The conviction is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in federal prison and a maximum of life.&nbsp; U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger set sentencing for June 17, 2026.</p><p class="text-align-justify">The guilty plea was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois,&nbsp;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.&nbsp; The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melody Wells and Ann Marie Ursini.</p><p class="text-align-justify">Hamilton&nbsp;and THOMAS PAVEY&nbsp;co-owned and operated Empire Market from 2018 to 2020.&nbsp;During that time, the online market facilitated more than four 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; Sales of controlled substances were the most prevalent activity, with net drug sales totaling nearly $375 million over the life of the site.</p><p class="text-align-justify">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.&nbsp; Hamilton and Pavey established that all transactions on the site must be conducted using only cryptocurrency.&nbsp; 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.</p><p class="text-align-justify">Pavey,&nbsp;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.&nbsp; Pavey is awaiting sentencing.&nbsp; He faces the same maximum sentence as Hamilton.&nbsp; As part of his plea agreement, 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.</p><div class="media entity-type-media entity-bundle-document media--document--embedded entity-document-1425661"> <div> <div class="field-formatter--media-entity-download-download-link field_media_file"><a href="/usao-ndil/media/1425661/dl?inline" type="application/pdf; length=269429" title="hamilton_plea_agreement.pdf" class="file file--mime-application-pdf file--application-pdf">hamilton_plea_agreement.pdf</a></div> </div> </div>