Cryptocurrency mining may not be profitable anymore, but it was booming during the pandemic. A former employee of a small town in the state has been accused of setting up a covert crypto-mining operation in a public school space.
Nadeam Nahas, a former employee of the facilities department in Cohassett, Massachusetts, faces charges of electrical misuse and school vandalism. The clandestine mining operation was discovered within the Cohasset Middle/High School crawl space by the town facilities manager during a routine inspection in December 2021.
The facility manager found “electric wires, temporary ductwork, and a number of computers that seemed out of place.” As reported by AP NewsWith the help of the town’s IT director, the collected equipment was identified as a cryptocurrency mining operation (illegal, of course) connected to the school’s electrical system. It was removed and investigated with the help of the Coast Guard Survey Service and the Department of Homeland Security.
The town’s police department launched a three-month-long investigation that eventually identified the city of Naha as the suspect. During the investigation, police determined that the mining operation had lasted him eight months and used $17,492 of electricity. According to WCVBAs a result, Nahas stepped down as Assistant Facilities Director in March 2022.
A default warrant was issued on Thursday after Nahas failed to appear for his arraignment, but was canceled after Nahas appeared in court on Friday. According to Boston Globe.
Previous illegal cryptocurrency mining operations have been found in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan (although at least one Chinese mining operation also used school resources).
