Two men, Thomas Pavey (aka “Dopenugget”) and Raheim Hamilton (aka “Sydney” and “Zero Angel”), have been charged in federal court in Chicago for operating the dark web marketplace “Empire Market<\/a>” from 2018 to 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the\u00a0indictment<\/a>, the duo was previously involved in selling counterfeit U.S. currency on AlphaBay<\/a> before starting Empire Market.
The two men are accused of having facilitated over four million transactions for a total value of more than $430 million, involving illegal goods and services. The authorities charged them with various crimes, including drug trafficking, computer fraud, access device fraud, counterfeiting, and money laundering<\/a>, which carry a maximum sentence of life in federal prison. Pavey and Hamilton are currently in U.S. law enforcement custody, with arraignments yet to be scheduled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“THOMAS PAVEY, also known as \u201cDopenugget,\u201d 38, of Ormond Beach, Fla., and RAHEIM HAMILTON, also known as \u201cSydney\u201d and \u201cZero Angel,\u201d 28, of Suffolk, Va., owned and operated Empire Market from 2018 to 2020, during which time they facilitated approximately four million transactions between vendors and buyers valued at more than $430 million, according to a superseding indictment returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.” reads the press release<\/a> published by DoJ. “They began operating Empire Market on Feb. 1, 2018, the indictment states.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dark web marketplace shut down in 2020, leaving users without time to withdraw funds from their escrow accounts, at the time some users blamed a prolonged denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, while others suspected an\u00a0exit scam<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two operators used cryptocurrency to conceal the nature and identities involved in the illicit transactions and encouraged users to use “tumbling” services<\/a>, which mix and exchange cryptocurrencies to obscure their origin and connection to the marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pavey and Hamilton face charges for five counts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two men can face a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs<\/strong><\/a> and Facebook<\/strong><\/a> and Mastodon<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pierluigi Paganini<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
(<\/strong>SecurityAffairs<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013<\/strong>\u00a0hacking, Empire Market)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n