Empire Market's $430M run ends with 40 years and 2,814 BTC forfeited
Raheim Hamilton, co-creator of Empire Market, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for running a dark web marketplace that processed roughly $430 million in drug transactions. He forfeited 1,230 BTC; his co-creator Thomas Pavey, who has not yet been sentenced, agreed to forfeit 1,584 BTC. Two outlets covered it, both crypto-focused, and neither dug past the sentencing wire.
Empire Market co-creator sentenced to 40 years over $430M dark web operation
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What happened
Raheim Hamilton was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for his role co-creating and operating Empire Market, a dark web marketplace that facilitated millions of drug transactions totaling approximately $430 million. Hamilton forfeited 1,230 BTC, valued at roughly $101 million at time of reporting. His co-creator, Thomas Pavey, reached a separate agreement to forfeit 1,584 BTC and is scheduled to be sentenced later this month. Empire Market was one of the largest English-language dark web markets before it exit-scammed in 2020, taking an estimated $30 million in user funds. Two outlets covered the sentencing, both crypto-native publications. That is the wire version. Two outlets have it, and neither went further than the docket.
What one side told you that the other didn't
Only crypto outlets covered a 40-year federal sentence.
A sentence of 40 years for operating a $430 million criminal marketplace drew zero coverage from general news outlets in this set. Decrypt and CoinDesk both filed, but their framing stayed narrow: BTC forfeiture amounts, dollar conversions, and sentencing dates. Neither outlet reported on Empire Market's 2020 exit scam, which cost users an estimated $30 million and is the reason the platform collapsed before federal charges landed. The exit scam is the part of the story that isn't just a drug case.
Pavey's sentencing this month got one sentence each.
Thomas Pavey, who forfeited more BTC than Hamilton (1,584 to 1,230) and whose sentencing is imminent, appears in both stories as a closing afterthought. Neither outlet reported on the terms of his plea, his role relative to Hamilton's, or what his sentencing exposure looks like. The larger forfeiture number alone is a story. It didn't become one.
What to watch
Thomas Pavey's sentencing is scheduled before the end of October. If his term differs significantly from Hamilton's 40 years despite a larger BTC forfeiture, that disparity will test whether crypto outlets treat the follow-up as a standalone story or a brief update. Watch for whether any general-interest outlet picks up the Pavey sentencing that ignored Hamilton's.
See how outlets across the political spectrum framed this differently — and what each side left out.