A former Cohasset, Massachusetts school employee is accused of running an operation to profit from cryptocurrency by stealing electricity. Officially, Nadeam Nahas worked for the Cohasset School System in the facilities department. But the Cohasset Police Department alleges that he, too, secretly operated a cryptocurrency mine inside a crawlspace at Cohasset Middle/High School, stealing nearly $18,000 worth of electricity from the district to do so. In December 2021, school staff called Cohasset police after finding multiple computers, cables, and ventilation equipment inside a basement in the building that houses Cohasset Middle and High School. Police say the city's IT director recognized the facility as a crypto mine, and city investigators enlisted the help of the Department of Homeland Security to remove the equipment for examination. After a three-month investigation, police say the mine has been in operation for eight months. accumulating $17,492 in electricity. They identified the deputy director of facilities, Nadeam Nahas, as the man who installed the mine. He now faces charges of fraudulent use of electricity and vandalism of a school. Babson College Information Technology Management Professor Steve Gordon is an expert in cryptocurrency. He is not affiliated with this criminal case, but explained the crypto mining process to 5 Investigates. "Cryptomining is the way a network that supports a cryptocurrency stays secure," he said. "One of the reasons they call it mining is that when a miner actually creates a new block, adds some transactions to the block chain, they are rewarded with coins that are created out of thin air." High-powered computers must continually work to solve complex problems in order to validate connections and keep cryptographic transactions secure. When successful, miners are rewarded for their efforts with new coins, potentially bringing in thousands of dollars. Bitcoin miners, for example, are currently rewarded with 6.25 Bitcoins. But high-powered computers need to work constantly, and in turn, they consume a lot of power. โIt is estimated that the total amount of energy used in the Bitcoin blockchain would be enough to power a small country like Switzerland or something like that,โ Gordon said. In a place like Massachusetts, the cost of electricity eats up any potential benefit from mining New England "Not really," Gordon replied. "Not unless I make an arrangement at some point with a power supplier to provide it at a very low price." He will be arraigned in Court Thursday of Quincy District.
A former Cohasset, Massachusetts school employee is accused of running an operation to profit from cryptocurrency by stealing electricity.
Officially, Nadeam Nahas worked for the Cohasset School System in the facilities department. But the Cohasset Police Department alleges that he, too, secretly operated a cryptocurrency mine inside a crawlspace at Cohasset Middle/High School, stealing nearly $18,000 worth of electricity from the district to do so.
In December 2021, school staff called Cohasset police after finding multiple computers, cables, and ventilation equipment inside a crawl space in the building that houses Cohasset Middle and High School. Police say the city's IT director recognized the facility as a crypto mine, and city investigators enlisted the help of the Department of Homeland Security to remove the equipment for examination.
After a three-month investigation, police say the mine ran for eight months, accumulating $17,492 worth of electricity. They identified the deputy director of facilities, Nadeam Nahas, as the man who installed the mine. He now faces charges for fraudulent use of electricity and vandalism at a school.
Babson College Information Technology Management Professor Steve Gordon is an expert in cryptocurrency. He is not affiliated with this criminal case, but he explained the crypto mining process to 5 Investigates.
โCryptomining is the way a network that supports a cryptocurrency stays secure,โ he said. "One of the reasons they call it mining is that when a miner actually creates a new block, adds some transactions to the block chain, they are rewarded with coins that are created out of thin air."
High-powered computers must continually work to solve complex problems, in order to validate connections and keep cryptographic transactions secure. When successful, miners are rewarded for their efforts with new coins, potentially bringing in thousands of dollars. Bitcoin miners, for example, are currently rewarded with 6.25 Bitcoins.
But high-powered computers have to run constantly, while also consuming a large amount of power.
โIt is estimated that the total amount of energy used in the Bitcoin blockchain would be enough to power a small country like Switzerland or something like that,โ Gordon said.
In a place like Massachusetts, the cost of electricity reduces any potential profit from mining.
Karen Anderson of 5 Investigates asked Gordon if it makes sense to try crypto mining anywhere in New England.
"Not really," Gordon replied. "Not unless you make an arrangement at some point with a power provider to provide power at a very low price."
Nahas resigned from his position with Cohasset Schools in March 2022.
When reached by phone, Nahas declined to comment. He will be arraigned Thursday in Quincy District Court.
