A former employee of the facilities department for the municipality of Cohasset in Massachusetts has been charged by the police for allegedly setting up a covert crypto-mining operation in a remote crawl area of Cohasset Middle/High School.
The accused employee is a 39-year-old man named Nadeam Nahas. He was charged with stealing electricity worth nearly $18,000 to power his cryptocurrency mining operation between April 28 and December 14, 2021.
According to reports, a judge issued a default warrant for Nahas after denying the defence’s request to postpone his arraignment on Thursday, February 23. The warrant gives the police the right to detain him because he failed to appear in court.
JUST IN: an ex-town employee is accused of running a “Cryptocurrency mining operation” out of Cohasset High School. pic.twitter.com/cdBlMIxnnH
— whalechart (@WhaleChart) February 24, 2023
According to reports, in December 2021, the town’s facilities director discovered electrical wires, temporary ductwork, and multiple computers that appeared out of place while conducting a routine school check. Upon investigating, the town’s IT director discovered that a crypto-mining operation had been illegally connected to the school’s electrical infrastructure.
The equipment was safely removed and examined with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security and the Coast Guard Investigation Service. A total of 11 computers were discovered at the location.
After a three-month probe, Nahas was identified as a suspect, and he submitted his resignation letter from the town of Cohasset’s facilities department in March 2022.
Similar incidents have been reported in other parts of the world. In July 2021, Malaysian authorities destroyed Bitcoin mining equipment worth $1.2 million after they had taken it from locals who had been using stolen electricity to mine. In August 2020, Bulgarian law enforcement detained two individuals for stealing more than $1.5 million in electricity to run two crypto-mining farms.
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