(Bloomberg) -- US prosecutors have charged two men with operating a dark web market where people around the world anonymously bought and sold more than $430 million worth of drugs, stolen information, counterfeit currency and malicious computer programs. 

Federal prosecutors in Chicago accused Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton of conspiring together and with others to engage in drug trafficking, computer fraud, money laundering and other crimes during their years running “Empire Market,” according to court documents unsealed on Thursday.

The pair are being held in federal custody and were already facing charges for allegedly selling counterfeit currency on another dark web market, “AlphaBay.”

Pavey, a 38-year-old who lived in Florida, pleaded not guilty to the 2022 charges and will do the same with the new superseding indictment, said Dan Eckhart, his lawyer. He declined to comment further on the case.

A lawyer for Hamilton, a 28-year-old from Virginia, didn’t immediately respond to a call and email seeking comment Friday. Court records don’t indicate how Hamilton pleaded to the earlier charges. 

After “AlphaBay” was shut down in 2017, prosecutors say Pavey and Hamilton began running “Empire Market” and facilitated more than 4 million transaction between 2018 and 2020, using cryptocurrency. 

The dark web bazaar allegedly advertised illicit goods and services — including heroin, stolen credit card information and counterfeit currency — and allowed buyers to rate their shopping experience by “stealth,” according to court records. 

Investigators seized cash, precious metals and more than $75 million worth of cryptocurrency from the pair, prosecutors said. 

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.