Two men charged with running Empire Market, $75 million in cryptocurrencies and other assets seized

Odaily News Federal prosecutors in Illinois have charged Thomas Pavey of Florida and Raheim Hamilton of Virginia with owning and operating the dark web market Empire Market from 2018 to 2020, which was shut down in August 2020. Prosecutors said the two processed $430 million in transactions through the platform during that period, allowing users to anonymously buy and sell drugs and stolen credit card information using cryptocurrency. The two were previously detained for selling counterfeit money on another dark web market, AlphaBay. The new charges include drug trafficking, computer fraud, counterfeiting and money laundering, with a maximum sentence of life in prison. In addition, law enforcement authorities seized $75 million worth of cryptocurrency, cash and precious metals during the investigation. (CoinDesk)