Former Cohasset worker charged with running cryptocurrency 'mining operation' under high school
QUINCY - The former Cohasset town worker accused of running a "cryptocurrency mining operation" out of the high school appeared in court Friday - a day later than expected.
Former Cohasset assistant facilities director Nadeam Nahas, 39, was due to be arraigned in Quincy District Court Thursday but never showed up, forcing the judge to issue a warrant for his arrest.
At his arraignment Friday, Nahas's attorney said he had filed a motion 10 days prior asking for a change of date on the hearing.
Prosecutors say Nahas was using a crawl space under the high school to create his own digital currency using taxpayers' money.
Cohasset police said another town worker discovered the mining setup in December of 2021. He saw electrical wires and several computers "that seemed out of place," police said.
The operation was illegally using power from the school's electrical system, police determined after consulting IT professionals. Investigators with the Coast Guard and Homeland Security helped safely remove the mining equipment and figure out where it came from.
After a three-month investigation, police charged Nahas with fraudulent use of electricity and vandalizing the school. Nahas resigned from his job in early 2022, police said.
As CBS News explains, crypto is digital currency that can be made or "mined" by using specialized computer processors running on vast amounts of electricity.