A US federal judge has sentenced Raheim Hamilton, a co-creator of the dark web marketplace Empire Market, to 40 years in prison. According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, he also agreed to forfeit about 1,230 bitcoin. The sentencing took place on Monday 5 October 2026. The prosecutors’ release came out on 7 October, and crypto press coverage followed on 8 and 9 October.
What the US Attorney’s Office says
Confirmed (US Attorney’s Office release, 7 October). Hamilton, 30, of Suffolk, Virginia, “pleaded guilty earlier this year” to a drug conspiracy charge. The release says: “On Monday, U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger sentenced Hamilton to 40 years in federal prison and fined him $5 million.” [1]
Prosecutors say Hamilton co-owned and operated Empire Market from 2018 to 2020. Over that period it “facilitated more than four million transactions between vendors and buyers valued at more than $430 million”, covering drugs, stolen account credentials, stolen personal information, counterfeit currency and hacking tools. Drug sales were “the most prevalent activity”, with “net drug sales totaling nearly $375 million over the life of the site” [1].
The release also says Hamilton and his co-creator, Thomas Pavey, designed the site to help users avoid detection and launder money. It says they required all transactions to use cryptocurrency and encouraged users to use “tumbling and mixing services” to conceal them [1].
What he agreed to give up
Forfeiture means giving up property that prosecutors say came from crime. The release says 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” [1].
Reported (CoinDesk, 9 October): CoinDesk puts the bitcoin at “1,230 bitcoin ($101 million)” [2]. The release gives no dollar value, and a bitcoin figure in dollars depends on the day’s price.
Some coverage describes the forfeitures as already completed. The release’s wording is that the men “agreed to forfeit”, and that is the wording used here. It does not say where the coins are held, whether they have moved, or what will happen to them.
The co-creator still to be sentenced
The release says Pavey, 41, of Ormond Beach, Florida, “pleaded guilty last year to a federal drug conspiracy charge” and admitted his role in creating and operating Empire Market. He agreed to forfeit “approximately 1,584 bitcoin, two boxes containing 25-ounce gold bars, three automobiles, and two properties in Florida”. He “is set to be sentenced before Judge Seeger later this month” [1]. No date is given.
How this relates to government-held bitcoin
The US government holds bitcoin from a number of cases, and TSN has covered movements in government-linked wallets. That post is background only. Neither the release nor CoinDesk connects Empire Market’s coins to those wallets, and they are not necessarily the same coins.
What this does not tell us
The release does not give wallet addresses, a court forfeiture order, or the coins’ current location. The dollar value is CoinDesk’s. Pavey’s sentence has not been announced. TSN has not named or described anyone beyond what the release says.
The Bottom Line
On Monday 5 October 2026, a federal judge sentenced Raheim Hamilton to 40 years and fined him $5 million, according to the US Attorney’s Office. The office says he agreed to forfeit about 1,230 bitcoin, 24.4 Ether and three Virginia properties, and that co-creator Thomas Pavey agreed to forfeit about 1,584 bitcoin and other assets ahead of his own sentencing later this month. CoinDesk values Hamilton’s bitcoin at $101 million. This is not investment advice.
Related on TSN: US government-linked wallets move bitcoin toward Coinbase Prime, including 12,267 BTC from the Bitfinex-hack seizure; sale unconfirmed
Sources
- US Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois, “Co-Creator of Dark Web Marketplace Sentenced to 40 Years in Federal Prison”, press release, 7 October 2026 (primary source; justice.gov). https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/co-creator-dark-web-marketplace-sentenced-40-years-federal-prison
- Olivier Acuna, “Dark web drug market operator sentenced to 40 years, forfeits $101 million in bitcoin”, CoinDesk, 9 October 2026 (trade press; source of the dollar value). https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/10/09/dark-web-drug-market-operator-forfeits-1-230-bitcoin-and-faces-40-years-in-prison
