The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago on October 5 sentenced Raheim Hamilton, a co-operator of the dark web illegal drug marketplace Empire Market, to 40 years in prison. According to an October 7 announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice, Hamilton, who pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges, was also fined 5 million dollars, or about 792 million yen. The illicit proceeds Hamilton agreed to forfeit include about 1,230 bitcoins, worth roughly 16.1 billion yen, as well as 24.4 ethereum, worth about 9.6 million yen, and three properties in the U.S. state of Virginia. Empire Market operated from 2018 to 2020, during which it brokered more than 4 million transactions totaling over 430 million dollars, or about 68.1 billion yen. The transactions centered on illegal drugs such as fentanyl and cocaine, with net sales reaching about 375 million dollars, or roughly 59.4 billion yen. The other co-operator also pleaded guilty in 2025 to drug conspiracy charges and agreed to forfeit about 1,584 BTC, worth roughly 20.7 billion yen, plus gold bars, three vehicles, and two properties, with sentencing scheduled for sometime in October.
BitcoinUS court sentencing in Empire Market case includes forfeiture of about 1,230 BTC, a large law-enforcement seizure of Bitcoin tied to illegal activity.
EthereumThe forfeiture order also includes 24.4 ethereum seized as illicit proceeds from the dark web marketplace.
