A former assistant director of school facilities in Cohasset, Massachusetts, has been charged with operating a cryptocurrency mining operation inside a crawlspace at Cohasset High School. The Cohasset Police Department alleges that Nadeam Nahas stole nearly $18,000 worth of electricity to power the crypto mining scheme.
Former Cohasset School Employee Faces Charges for Theft of Electricity at School Crawlspace Crypto Mine
TO report Posted by Boston’s WCVB network alleges that Nadeam Nahas, a former employee at the school in Cohasset, Massachusetts, stole electricity from the district to mine cryptocurrency. Nahas is accused of organizing the operation in the basement of Cohasset High School, where several computers, ventilation devices and connected wiring were found.
Photographs taken by the Cohasset Police Department show that the mining devices appear to be application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rigs, possibly used to mine bitcoins. Police accuse Nahas of secretly mining cryptocurrency for eight months on the school campus, with the city’s IT director discovering the operation was a cryptocurrency mine.
Investigators, Cohasset police and members of the Department of Homeland Security were involved in the case and removed the miners from the basement of the high school. The investigation lasted three months and investigators estimate that approximately $17,492 worth of electricity was stolen.
Nahas is one of many people accused of stealing electricity to power cryptocurrency mining operations over the years. For example, in 2021, Malaysia seized 1,720 bitcoin mining machines during a campaign against electricity theft.
Law enforcement officials in Malaysia revealed last year that they had arrested more than 600 people for stealing electricity to mine cryptocurrency in the previous two years. In 2020, a kennel owner in China was arrested for stealing power to operate a bitcoin mining farm.
In Rotterdam, the Netherlands, two brothers were arrested in 2016 for stealing electricity to mine bitcoin and grow cannabis. WCVB reporter William Bennett reports that Nahas faces charges of school vandalism and fraudulent use of electrical resources.
Nahas is scheduled to appear in Quincy District Court for arraignment on February 23, 2023. According to Bennett, when contacted by phone, the accused former Cohasset school employee declined to comment on the matter.
What do you think about the former school employee accused of stealing electricity to mine cryptocurrency in the crawl space of Cohasset High School? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comments section below.
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