Empire Market co-founder gets 40 years, agrees to forfeit 1,230 BTC

Empire Market co-founder gets 40 years, agrees to forfeit 1,230 BTC

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, Empire Market co-founder Rahim Hamilton was sentenced to 40 years in prison and fined $5 million on charges of conspiracy to distribute narcotics. Hamilton also agreed to forfeit about 1,230 BTC, 24.4 ETH, and three properties. Empire Market operated from 2018 to 2020 and processed more than $430 million in transactions, requiring cryptocurrency payments for all trades. Another co-founder, Thomas Pavey, also agreed to forfeit about 1,584 BTC and other assets, and is set to be sentenced later this month.