Admins of Darknet Marketplace Empire Market Face Life Term For Enabling $430M in Transactions
Two U.S. nationals have been charged with five counts of drug trafficking, computer fraud, access device fraud, counterfeiting, and money laundering. The duo enabled 4 million transactions worth $430 million when Empire Market ran between 2018-2020. Both are in custody and are awaiting arraignment.
- Ormond Beach, FL resident Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton of Suffolk, VA, have been charged with five counts.
- These include selling counterfeit U.S. currency on AlphaBay and Empire Market, distributing controlled substances, defrauding using access devices, and laundering money.
- Empire Market shut down abruptly in 2020, and AlphaBay shut down in 2017.
Two alleged administrators of the darknet marketplace Empire Market face life imprisonment for drug trafficking, computer fraud, access device fraud, counterfeiting, and money laundering.
38-year-old Thomas Pavey, aka Dopenugget, and 28-year-old Raheim Hamilton, aka Sydney, have been charged with facilitating illicit transactions worth approximately $430 million.
Empire Market traded drugs, chemicals, counterfeit U.S. currency, malware and other software, credit card numbers and other information, and other illegal goods. Payments were settled through cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin and Monero, on their anonymous .onion site accessible through TOR.
Empire Market had categorized items under the following categories, all of which have earned them charges on five counts:
- Fraud
- Drugs and Chemicals
- Counterfeit Items
- Software and Malware
Pavey and Hamilton also employed moderators for the darknet market, who directed and paid to resolve disputes between vendors and buyers.
The duo also “encouraged users to use ‘tumbling’ services to obfuscate their transactions and conceal and disguise connections to Empire Market. Tumbling services use a series of transactions to mix and exchange cryptocurrencies to obscure their origin,” the indictment reads.
“For instance, by in or about approximately October 2018, Empire Market advertised that ‘Tumbling your coins is a popular way to erase any trace of your coins coming from Empire Market. In some cases, using the blockchain, a determined investigator can trace you back to this Empire. Tumbling your coins for a small fee (normally 1-3% ensure that you will never be traced back to here.’”
Pavey and Hamilton commenced Empire Market operations on February 1, 2018, but they had previously worked together on AlphaBay to advertise and sell counterfeit U.S. currency. AlphaBay was shut down in 2017, while Empire Market discontinued operations on August 22, 2020, as per the indictment.
See More: U.S. Authorities Seize BreachForums Website Over Data Theft
“Pavey and Hamilton paid themselves by retaining a portion of sales of stolen and fraudulently-obtained credit card numbers and account login credentials on Empire Market,” the indictment reads.
At the time of the seizure, law enforcement recovered cryptocurrency worth $75 million, as well as cash and precious metals. The Department of Justice didn’t mention when the duo were arrested or whether Empire Market’s shutdown was caused by law enforcement action. Both are currently awaiting arraignments to be scheduled.
Some of the major law enforcement operations against cybercrime over the years by U.S. and global agencies include:
- BreachForums seizure (May 2024 – the second time in 12 months): The darknet site resurfaced only two weeks later
- Lockbit ransomware leader unmasking (May 2024): Russian national Dimitry Yuryevich Khoroshev was publicly revealed and carries a $10 million bounty for his arrest
- Nemesis marketplace (December 2023): cryptocurrency assets valued at €94,000 ($102,000) also recovered
- Kingdom Market (December 2023): Seized entire server infrastructure
- Monopoly Market (May 2023): 288 arrests and the seizure of $53 million in cash, cryptocurrencies, one ton of drugs and 117 firearms to disrupt fentanyl and opioid trafficking on the dark web under Operation SpecTor
- Genesis market (April 2023): Led to 120 arrests and seizure of 11 domains under Operation Cookie Monster
- WT1SHOP marketplace (Sep 2022): Dealt in the personally identifiable information (PII), credentials, and other sensitive data
- Hydra marketplace (April 2022): The longest-running darknet marketplace before its takedown, recovered 543 bitcoins worth €23 million (~$25.2 million) at the time
- RaidForums (April 2022): This predecessor of BreachForums was seized under Dubbed Tourniquet
