- Empire Market, a dark-web bazaar that peddled drugs, malware, digital fraud, and other illegal stuff. Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton have been detained on charges related to owning and operating the illicit souk.
- Both men remain in custody and await their arraignments in federal court.
OUR TAKE
Cybercrime super-souk’s Dopenugget and Zero Angel may face life behind bars if convicted. These illegal activities involve not only direct transactions between individuals, but also various financial frauds and identity thefts, which seriously affect public safety and personal financial security.
–Revel Cheng, BTW reporter
The two alleged administrators of Empire Market, a dark-web bazaar that peddled drugs, malware, digital fraud, and other illegal stuff, have been detained on charges related to owning and operating the illicit souk.
What happened
According to US prosecutors, 38-year-old Thomas Pavey, aka “Dopenugget,” of Ormond beach, Florida, and 28-year-old Raheim Hamilton, aka “Sydney” and “Zero Angel,” of Suffolk, Virginia, ran Empire Market between 2018 and 2020. During this period, they allegedly facilitated four million underworld transactions valued at more than $430 million by federal prosecutors.
During an investigation and subsequent arrests, federal law enforcement is said to have seized cryptocurrency valued at $75 million along with cash and precious metals.
In Empire Market, Buyers could browse the e-souk by category, including “Fraud,” “Drugs and Chemicals,” “Counterfeit Items,” and “Software and Malware.” Plus, these categories had sub-categories, so, for example, addicts could find “Cocaine,” “Heroin,” “Morphine,” “OxyCodone,” “Prescription,” “Meth,” “Opium,” and others under the drugs category, we’re told.
After making a purchase, buyers could review and rate the vendors on various criteria including “stealth.” The suspected duo also alleged employed moderators to resolve any disputes between buyers and sellers on the site.
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Why it’s important
Prior to allegedly operating Empire Market, Pavey and Hamilton previously worked together to advertise and sell counterfeit US currency on another dark-web market, AlphaBay, that the Feds shut down in 2017, it is claimed.
“Thousands of vendors advertised goods and services for sale on Empire Market, including controlled substances, compromised and stolen account credentials, stolen and counterfeit credit card information, and counterfeit currency, among others,” according to the pair’s indictment.
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 percent) ensure that you will never be traced back to here.”
Both men remain in custody and await their arraignments in federal court.
