Empire Market Co-Creator Sentenced to 40 Years for $430 Million Dark Web Operation
Raheim Hamilton, 30, of Suffolk, Virginia — known online by the aliases "Sydney" and "ZeroAngel" — has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison and fined $5 million for co-creating and operating Empire Market, one of the largest dark web marketplaces of its era. U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger handed down the sentence in Chicago on October 5, 2026, and the Department of Justice announced it two days later. Between 2018 and 2020, Empire Market facilitated more than 4 million transactions valued at over $430 million, serving roughly 1.68 million registered users at its peak.
Case Details
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Defendant | Raheim Hamilton, 30, of Suffolk, Virginia (aliases "Sydney," "ZeroAngel") |
| Co-defendant | Thomas Pavey, 41, of Ormond Beach, Florida (alias "Dopenugget") |
| Charge | Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute controlled substances (max. penalty: life in prison) |
| Plea | Guilty, January 2026, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago) |
| Sentence | 40 years in federal prison, plus a $5 million fine |
| Sentencing Judge | U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger |
| Sentencing Date | October 5, 2026 (DOJ announcement October 7, 2026) |
| Marketplace | Empire Market — Tor-hidden-service dark web marketplace modeled on AlphaBay |
| Operating Period | August 2017 until its 2020 shutdown |
| Transactions Facilitated | More than 4 million, valued at over $430 million |
| Peak Registered Users (August 2020) | Approximately 1.68 million (5,000+ vendors, nearly 360,000 buyers) |
| Investigating Agencies | FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations |
What Happened
Built as an AlphaBay Clone After a Rival's Takedown
Hamilton was not new to dark web commerce. Between June 2016 and July 2017, he sold goods on AlphaBay — at the time the largest dark web marketplace — under the username "ZeroAngel." When law enforcement seized AlphaBay in 2017, Hamilton and co-defendant Thomas Pavey ("Dopenugget") moved to fill the vacuum, launching Empire Market in August 2017 as a Tor-hidden-service site deliberately modeled on and advertised as an AlphaBay successor. The strategy worked: Empire Market absorbed much of AlphaBay's displaced vendor and buyer base and grew into one of the dominant dark web marketplaces of the following three years.
A Cryptocurrency-Only Marketplace Designed to Evade Detection
When he pleaded guilty, Hamilton admitted that Empire Market was engineered from the outset to help users evade law enforcement and launder proceeds. All transactions on the platform were conducted exclusively in cryptocurrency, and the operators encouraged buyers and vendors to run payments through tumbling and mixing services to further obscure the money trail. Escrow functionality let buyers and vendors transact without directly exposing wallet addresses to one another, mirroring the trust-and-anonymity model pioneered by earlier markets like Silk Road and AlphaBay.
What Was Sold
According to the Justice Department, Empire Market's catalog went well beyond narcotics, though drugs made up the bulk of its volume. Seized records tied the marketplace to at least 13,314.23 grams of fentanyl, 446,683.15 grams of cocaine, 71,992.33 grams of methamphetamine, and 103,396.21 grams of heroin, alongside listings for compromised or stolen account credentials, stolen personally identifying information, counterfeit currency, and computer-hacking tools.
Collapse Amid Extortion and an Alleged Exit Scam
Empire Market did not end in a law enforcement raid. In 2020, the marketplace was hit by sustained, extortion-driven distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that repeatedly knocked the site offline. The platform then shut down abruptly, leaving buyers and vendors unable to withdraw funds held in escrow — a pattern users and outside observers characterized at the time as an exit scam by the operators. The shutdown effectively erased any on-platform trust mechanism just as federal investigators were closing in on the people behind it.
Impact Assessment
| Impact Area | Description |
|---|---|
| Criminal Justice | One of the longest sentences handed to a dark web marketplace operator, reinforcing DOJ's continued pursuit of drug-trafficking marketplace operators years after shutdown |
| Financial | $5 million fine plus forfeiture of approximately 1,230 bitcoin, 24.4 Ether, and three Virginia properties from Hamilton alone |
| Public Health | The marketplace moved large volumes of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, tying it directly to the broader U.S. overdose crisis |
| Cybercrime Ecosystem | Demonstrates that cryptocurrency anonymization and a years-old platform shutdown do not shield former operators from prosecution or asset seizure |
| Ongoing Litigation | Co-defendant Thomas Pavey's sentencing remains pending; the case is not fully resolved |
| Law Enforcement Capability | Confirms multi-agency ability (FBI, USPIS, HSI) to unmask operators behind long-running Tor-hidden marketplaces |
Recommendations
For Security Teams and Threat Intelligence Analysts
- Track known dark web operator aliases (e.g., "Sydney," "ZeroAngel," "Dopenugget") across marketplaces — operators frequently reuse handles when migrating between platforms after takedowns.
- Monitor dark web marketplace churn: takedowns and exit scams routinely displace vendors and buyers onto successor markets within weeks, and threat intelligence feeds should track that migration.
- Incorporate dark web marketplace monitoring into credential-exposure and brand-protection programs, since marketplaces like Empire routinely traded in compromised account credentials and stolen personally identifying information.
For Organizations Handling Sensitive Data
- Assume that stolen credentials and personal data sold on now-defunct marketplaces continue to circulate on successor platforms years after the original listing.
- Enforce regular credential rotation and continuously monitor for exposed employee or customer credentials on active dark web marketplaces.
- Review incident response plans to confirm they account for data that may surface for sale long after an initial breach is considered closed.
For Individuals and Consumers
- Avoid dark web marketplaces regardless of apparent longevity or vendor reputation scores — every major market to date, including Silk Road, AlphaBay, Hansa, and Empire, has ended in a law enforcement takedown or an operator exit scam.
- If you transacted on Empire Market between 2017 and 2020, assume associated device, payment, and account metadata may be part of law enforcement's seized evidence.
Key Takeaways
- Raheim Hamilton, 30, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison and fined $5 million for co-creating and operating Empire Market.
- Empire Market facilitated more than 4 million transactions worth over $430 million between 2018 and 2020, reaching roughly 1.68 million registered users at its peak.
- Hamilton pleaded guilty in January 2026 to a single drug conspiracy count that alone carried a maximum penalty of life in prison.
- The marketplace collapsed in 2020 amid extortion-driven DDoS attacks and allegations of an exit scam after users lost access to escrow funds.
- Co-defendant Thomas Pavey faces sentencing later in October 2026; combined forfeitures from both defendants include more than 2,800 bitcoin, gold bars, vehicles, and five real-estate properties.
- The case underscores that cryptocurrency anonymization and even a multi-year-old platform shutdown do not shield dark web marketplace operators from eventual prosecution and asset forfeiture.