Illinois federal prosecutors have charged Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton with operating the dark web market Empire Market. The prosecution alleges that they conducted transactions totaling $430 million through the platform between 2018 and 2020, allowing users to anonymously purchase drugs and stolen credit card information using cryptocurrencies. The two were previously detained for selling counterfeit currency on another dark web market, AlphaBay. The new charges include drug trafficking, computer fraud, forgery, and money laundering, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Law enforcement agencies seized $75 million worth of cryptocurrencies, cash, and precious metals during the investigation.