An information technology supervisor in New York has been accused of using hidden devices to mine cryptocurrency, using taxpayer dollars to fund his endeavors.
Prosecutors announced Wednesday that Christopher Naples, 42, is accused of hiding 46 specialized devices at the Suffolk County Center in Riverhead to mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using the building’s energy resources. Ten of the devices have been active since February, using at least $6,000 in electricity bills. Naples had been working in Suffolk County since 2000 and had hidden the devices in six rooms of the center, according to KIRO-TV.
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Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said Naples is charged with multiple counts, including public corruption, grand larceny, and computer trespass. If convicted, Naples will face up to 15 years in prison.
“Mining cryptocurrency requires an enormous amount of resources, and miners have to navigate how to cover all of those electricity and cooling costs,” Sini said in a statement announcing the arrest. “Naples found a way to do it; unfortunately, it was on the backs of taxpayers,” Sini said.
Cryptocurrency mining is a complicated process that requires lots of electricity to fully operate. Naples had used the electricity of the county center to power his devices, which he hid under floorboards and an unused electrical wall panel, per the Associated Press.
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Bitcoin dropped in value on Sept. 7 after El Salvador adopted it as its national currency, though the cryptocurrency has continued to build support despite its rocky and volatile worth.
CoinFlip, a Bitcoin ATM operator, announced in August that they would be expanding to Chicago, Illinois.
