June 17, 2024 at 04:01PM
Two men, Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton, have been charged in a Chicago federal court for operating “Empire Market,” a dark web marketplace that facilitated over $430 million in illegal transactions, including the sale of drugs, counterfeit money, and stolen items. If convicted on all counts, they could face life in prison and forfeiture of assets.
Summary of Meeting Notes:
– Two men, Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton, have been charged in a Chicago federal court for operating a dark web marketplace called “Empire Market.” The marketplace facilitated over $430 million in illegal transactions between February 2018 and August 2020.
– Empire Market offered various illegal goods such as drugs, chemicals, jewelry, credit card numbers, counterfeit money bills, malware, and more, with payment options including Monero, Litecoin, and Bitcoin.
– The marketplace abruptly shut down in 2020 amid persistent extortion-based DDoS waves, prompting exit scam allegations and leaving its users unable to perform withdrawals from their account escrow.
– Pavey and Hamilton were previously involved in selling counterfeit U.S. currency on AlphaBay before starting Empire Market. Through Empire, they facilitated over 4 million transactions valued at over $430,000,000, allowing thousands of users to sell and buy stolen items, credit cards, and various illicit drugs.
– The transactions involved cryptocurrency combined with tumbling services to obfuscate the source and destination and evade law enforcement.
– Pavey and Hamilton paid themselves by retaining portions of cryptocurrency transactions on Empire Market and used the funds to pay themselves and a team of moderators on the market.
– The two marketplace operators now face charges for five counts, including conspiracy to sell counterfeit U.S. currency, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances through Empire Market, conspiracy to possess unauthorized access devices, conspiracy to sell counterfeit currency, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
– If convicted on all counts, Pavey and Hamilton could face life in prison and must forfeit any property derived from the proceeds of their crimes, including personal property. Substitute assets will be sought if original assets are beyond reach.
– Investigations have led to the seizure of $75,000,000 worth of cryptocurrency, as well as cash and precious metals.
– No details were shared about when the arrests occurred and whether the abrupt 2020 shutdown of the Empire Market was due to law enforcement action.