Empire Market’s Fall: How the Feds Crushed a $430 Million Dark Web Giant

In the murky underworld of the dark web, few names inspired as much fear - and profit - as Empire Market. This week, the U.S. government closed the chapter on one of the most significant cybercrime cases in recent history, securing a second guilty plea from the masterminds behind a marketplace that trafficked everything from heroin to hacked credit cards. But how did two men manage to orchestrate a criminal bazaar with over a million users - only to watch it implode in a dramatic exit scam?

Empire Market’s meteoric rise began in the wake of AlphaBay’s takedown in 2017. Seeing a vacuum, Raheim Hamilton (alias “Sydney” and “ZeroAngel”) and Thomas Pavey (“Dopenugget”) built a digital bazaar modelled after its notorious predecessor. Their site quickly became a haven for criminal entrepreneurs, meticulously organized under categories like “Fraud,” “Drugs & Chemicals,” “Counterfeit Items,” and “Software & Malware.” Its sophisticated design and focus on user anonymity drew more than 1.6 million users and enabled over 4 million illicit deals.

For two years, Hamilton and Pavey ran their empire from behind keyboards in Virginia and Florida, facilitating sales of heroin, methamphetamine, counterfeit currency, and stolen credit cards. According to federal prosecutors, they engineered the marketplace to evade law enforcement and launder profits, raking in hundreds of millions in cryptocurrency. Their digital fortress, however, was not impenetrable. In the summer of 2020, Empire Market abruptly vanished, leaving users stunned and $30 million poorer after its operators absconded with their bitcoin.

The law finally caught up in 2024, when both men were charged with a slew of offenses that could have landed them life sentences. Instead, they each pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy, facing up to 10 years behind bars. As part of their deals, Hamilton agreed to forfeit 1,230 bitcoin (worth $108 million), 24.4 Ether coins, and three properties, while Pavey surrendered 1,584 bitcoin ($139 million), gold bars, luxury cars, and real estate.

Empire Market’s fall is emblematic of a broader, relentless crackdown on cybercrime. Since AlphaBay’s demise, international law enforcement has kept the pressure on, recently targeting other black markets like BreachForums, BidenCash, Archetyp, and even the Russian-language RAMP forum. The message is clear: the days of untouchable dark web kingpins are numbered.

As Hamilton awaits sentencing in June and Pavey’s fate hangs in the balance, the once-mighty Empire Market stands as a cautionary tale. The allure of digital anonymity may be strong, but in the end, the long arm of the law proved even stronger.

WIKICROOK

• Dark Web: La Dark Web è la parte nascosta di Internet, accessibile solo con software speciali, dove spesso si svolgono attività illegali e si garantisce l’anonimato.
• Exit Scam: An exit scam is when operators of an illicit online service vanish suddenly, taking users’ money or data and leaving victims without recourse.
• Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency is a digital currency secured by cryptography, enabling secure, decentralized transactions and often used for both legal and illicit activities.
• Money Laundering: Money laundering hides the illegal origins of funds by making them appear legitimate, often using businesses or casinos to disguise the source.
• Federal Drug Conspiracy: Federal drug conspiracy is a crime involving an agreement to break federal drug laws, often used to target drug trafficking groups.