Empire Market Co-Founder Handed 40-Year Sentence and Must Forfeit 1,230 Bitcoin

Raheem Hamilton, the 30-year-old co-founder of the dark web marketplace Empire Market, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison in Chicago on October 5. The court also ordered him to pay a $5 million fine and surrender roughly 1,230 BTC, 24.4 ETH and three Virginia properties.

Between 2018 and 2020 the platform processed more than four million transactions worth nearly $375 million in illegal drugs, including 13.3 kg of fentanyl, 446.7 kg of cocaine, 72 kg of methamphetamine and 103.4 kg of heroin. All payments had to be made in cryptocurrency, and users relied on mixers and encryption to hide their activity.

Hamilton’s partner Thomas Pavy, 41, already pleaded guilty and is due to be sentenced later this month. He has agreed to hand over 1,584 BTC along with gold bars, cars and Florida real estate. Authorities valued the digital assets seized in the Empire Market case at $75 million at the time of confiscation.

Based on information from cryptonews.net