Feds get second guilty plea in takedown of dark web Empire Market

Raheim Hamilton and Thomas Pavey, co-creators of the Empire Market dark web marketplace, have pleaded guilty to federal charges related to operating a platform that facilitated approximately $430 million in illicit transactions (drugs, counterfeit currency, stolen card data) and that vanished in 2020 amid an alleged $30 million theft of user bitcoin; both agreed to large cryptocurrency and asset forfeitures as part of plea deals while law enforcement continues international actions against similar darknet markets.