A little over a year ago, a strange set-up was found in a remote area of a middle/high school in Cohasset, Massachusetts. While doing a routine inspection, the town's facilities director came across "electrical wires, temporary duct work, and numerous computers that seemed out of place" in part of the school's crawl space, according to AP News.
Turns out it was a crypto mining rig illegally using the school (and its electricity) as its headquarters — and the person accused of running the illicit operation is the town's assistant to the facilities director who was doing the inspection.
From AP:
Police responded to Cohasset Middle/High School in December 2021 after the town's facilities director found electrical wires, temporary duct work, and numerous computers that seemed out of place while conducting a routine inspection of the school, Chief William Quigley of the Cohasset Police Department said in a statement Wednesday.
He contacted the town's IT director, who determined that it was a cryptocurrency mining operation unlawfully hooked up to the school's electrical system, Quigley said.
The Coast Guard Investigative Service and the Department of Homeland Security assisted with safely removing and examining the equipment. …
[Nadeam] Nahas, the town's assistant facilities director, was identified as a suspect after a three-month investigation. After a show-cause hearing, a criminal complaint was issued. Nahas subsequently resigned from his job with the town in early 2022, police said.
The 39-year-old former town assistant was supposed to be arraigned today on charges of "fraudulent use of electricity and vandalizing a school," but never showed up, according to AP.
