Cryptocurrency mining may no longer be profitable, but it was booming during the pandemic. But it might still be worth it, even now, if you didn't have to foot the bill for electricity — like the former employee of a small town in Massachusetts, who has been accused of setting up a secret crypto mining operation in the crawl space at a public school.
Nadeam Nahas, a former employee in the facilities department of Cohasset, Ma., is facing charges of fraudulent use of electricity and vandalizing a school. The secret mining operation was discovered inside a crawlspace in Cohasset Middle/High School in December 2021 by the town's facilities director, who was performing a routine inspection.
The facilities director found "electrical wires, temporary duct work, and numerous computers that seemed out of place," according to an AP News report. With help from the town's IT director, the collection of equipment was identified as a crypto mining operation hooked up to the school's electrical system (illegally, of course). It was removed and examined with help from the Coast Guard Investigative Service and the Department of Homeland Security.
The town's police department launched a three-month investigation, culminating in Nahas being identified as a suspect. During the investigation, the police determined that the mining operation ran for eight months and used $17,492 in electricity, according to WCVB. As a result, Nahas resigned from his position as Assistant Facilities Director in March 2022.
A default warrant was issued Thursday after Nahas failed to show up for his arraignment but has since been canceled after Nahas appeared in court Friday, according to the Boston Globe.
Previous illegal crypto mining operations were found in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan tapped directly into power grids (although at least one Chinese mining operation also used a school's resources).
