Warrant issued for a 39-year-old over illegal crypto mining in Massachusetts
It is no secret that crypto mining is a costly endeavor. One individual from Massachusetts took the calculated decision to have a school bear his crypto mining expenses. A former facilities worker who reportedly set up a hidden crypto mining operation in the crawl space of a Massachusetts school is going to be arrested after failing to appear in court to face charges.
Crypto mining affairs go south for one man in the US
Nadeam Nahas, 39, the former assistant facilities director of Cohasset, was scheduled to be charged in Quincy District Court on Thursday but did not appear. His conduct compelled the judge to issue an arrest warrant for him. Nadeam Nahas has been charged with misusing electricity for crypto mining and vandalizing a school.
Early in 2022, he resigned from his position as assistant facilities director, and he was summoned to court this week. According to sources, he failed to appear in court before the judge as requested, prompting the issuance of an arrest order. However, he arrived at the Quincy District Court with his lawyers early Friday morning.
A default warrant is a type of arrest warrant issued by a court when an individual fails to appear in court or comply with an order; it empowers law enforcement agents to apprehend the individual on sight.
According to reports, between April 28 and December 14, 2021, Nahas allegedly stole over $18,000 worth of electricity to operate his crypto mining enterprise. In December 2021, according to Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley, investigators were dispatched to Cohasset Middle/High School to investigate a report of a probable “crypto mining operation.”
According to witnesses, an isolated crawl room beneath the school had dozens of mining devices. Eleven computers were discovered, and after a three-month inquiry, Nahas was identified as a suspect.
During an interview with the town’s director of facilities, the detectives learned that during a routine school inspection, the director observed electrical wires, makeshift ductwork, and multiple computers that appeared to be out of place. After conducting research and alerting the town’s IT director, officials discovered that it was a crypto mining operation unlawfully connected to the school’s electrical infrastructure.
Crypto Mining is the method by which Bitcoin and other digital currencies are created and validated. The process requires a complex network of computers and enormous quantities of electricity.
High costs of crypto mining ramp up illegal activities
According to the White House, the annual global electricity consumption for crypto-assets is between 120 and 240 billion kilowatt-hours. The figures exceed the yearly energy consumption of other countries, such as Argentina and Australia.
As per reports, this is certainly not the first time someone has been charged with stealing electricity for crypto mining. For example, in July 2021, officials in Malaysia destroyed Bitcoin BTC mining machines worth $1.2 million that had been confiscated from individuals who stole energy to mine Bitcoin.
In August 2020, Bulgarian officials detained two individuals for unlawfully siphoning more than $1.5 million worth of electricity to power two cryptocurrency mining farms.
United states regulators have made headlines over the crypto crackdown in the last few weeks. It goes to say that Nadeam Nahas is in for heavy punishment. The United States government is here to enforce crypto laws and Nadeam Nahas will be a good example.
