After skipping a planned court appearance to respond to accusations, a former facilities worker who is accused of setting up a covert bitcoin mining operation inside a Massachusetts school’s crawl space is slated to be arrested. The hearing was to answer to the allegations.
According to several sources in the media, Nadeam Nahas’ arraignment on the allegations of vandalizing a school and making fraudulent use of power was due to take place on February 23.
A form of warrant known as a default warrant is the kind of warrant that courts issue when a person fails to appear in court or comply with an order. This type of warrant gives law enforcement officials the authority to arrest the individual in question.
It is alleged that Nahas, who is said to have previously worked in the facilities department for the town of Cohasset, Massachusetts, United States, stole electricity worth almost $18,000 in order to power his cryptocurrency mining operation in 2021, between April 28 and December 14, specifically between the dates of April 28 and December 14.
According to the reports, the local authorities were notified about the operation for the first time in December 2021. This occurred after the director of facilities at Cohasset noticed computers, wiring, and ductwork that appeared to be out of place given that they were located in a crawl space close to the school’s boiler room.
There were a total of 11 computers discovered at the location, and after a three-month investigation, Nahas was determined to be a suspect in the case.
In March, Nahas handed in his resignation from his job with the municipality of Cohasset.
It is very unlikely that this is the first time someone has been accused of stealing energy for the purpose of mining cryptocurrencies.
Officials in Malaysia destroyed Bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs worth $1.2 million in July 2021 after seizing them from citizens who were stealing energy to mine Bitcoin. The rigs had been taken from citizens who were mining Bitcoin illegally.
A year earlier, in August of 2019, Bulgarian police made the arrest of two individuals for unlawfully siphoning off more than $1.5 million in energy to run two cryptocurrency mining farms.