A former facility worker who allegedly set up clandestine cryptocurrency mining in a Massachusetts school crawl space is set to be arrested after missing a scheduled court hearing to answer to the charges.
On February 23, Nadeam Nahas was to be charged with vandalism at the school and fraudulent use of electricity. according to to media reports.
JUST IN: former city employee accused of running ‘cryptocurrency mining’ at Cohasset High School. pic.twitter.com/cdBlMIxnnH
— whalechart (@WhaleChart) February 24, 2023
A warrant is a type if the courts issue an arrest warrant when a person fails to appear in court or comply with an order and authorizes the police to arrest the person.
Nahas, who allegedly previously worked in the utilities department for the city of Cohasset, Massachusetts, United States, allegedly stole nearly $18,000 worth of electricity to power his crypto mining operation in 2021, between April 28 and December. 14.
Court documents show the city calculated Nahas – of Norwell (he worked for the city of Cohasset in the utilities department) allegedly stole $17,492.57 worth of electricity while the computers were doing their work 24/7 near the basement boiler room. It was discovered on 12-14-21.
— Jonathan Hall (@JHall7news) February 23, 2023
Local police were reportedly initially notified of the operation in December 2021 after the Cohasset facility director noticed computers, wiring and piping that seemed out of place given that they were in a crawl space near the school’s boiler room.
A total of 11 computers were found there, and Nahas was identified as a suspect after a three-month investigation.
Nahas resigned from his position with the town of Cohasset in March.
Related: The Economics of Cryptocurrency Mining: Costs, Returns and Market Trends
This is certainly not the first time someone has been accused of stealing electricity to mine cryptocurrency.
In July 2021, Malay officials destroyed $1.2 million worth of bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs that were seized from residents who were stealing electricity for mining.
A year earlier, in August 2020, Bulgarian authorities arrested two men for illegal activities siphoning off more than $1.5 million in electricity to run two cryptomining farms.
