Empire Market co-founder sentenced to 40 years: agreed to forfeit approximately 1,230 bitcoins

The co-founder of the dark web market Empire Market, Raheim Hamilton, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison and fined $5 million on October 5 in Chicago. His plea agreement covers approximately 1,230 bitcoins, 24.4 ethers, and three properties in Virginia.

Empire Market operated from 2018 to 2020, facilitating over 4 million transactions between buyers and sellers, with a transaction volume exceeding $430 million. Investigators seized digital assets, cash, and precious metals worth $75 million in the case. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that the platform required buyers and sellers to conduct transactions exclusively in cryptocurrency and encouraged the use of mixing services and encrypted communication. Buyers could also rate the effectiveness of sellers in hiding drug packages, with drug sales involved amounting to nearly $375 million.