Northern Minnesota man cost former employer $45K in cryptojacking scheme, charges say
MINNEAPOLIS — A northern Minnesota man is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from his former employer through an illegal cryptojacking scheme.
The 44-year-old man from Orr, Minnesota, is charged with one count of computer fraud, according to U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
Cryptojacking is a type of cybercrime where an unauthorized party mines cryptocurrency using the victim's computing power, which can cause reduced system performance, increased energy consumption and higher operating costs.
Court documents say the man resigned from his job at Digital River, a Minnesota-based e-commerce and payment processing company, in February 2020. Between December 2020 and May 2021, he allegedly used accounts belonging to his former employer to mine Ethereum cryptocurrency.
Charges say the unauthorized access cost the company more than $45,000.
The man also allegedly directed the Ethereum into a digital wallet and transferred it to two Coinbase accounts under his name. He then liquidated the cryptocurrency — more than $7,000 worth — and put it in his bank account.
The suspect made his first court appearance on Friday.
