New York IT Supervisor Faces Up to 15 Years in Prison Mining Bitcoin in the Office – Mining Bitcoin News

A New York IT supervisor faces a possible prison sentence of up to 15 years for mining Bitcoin in the office. The man, identified as Christopher Naples, had allegedly hidden 46 mining platforms in the offices of the Suffolk County Center in Riverhead, New York. According to the investigation, 10 of these rigs had been installed as of February and were consuming more than $6,000 worth of energy. But since there were 36 other machines, the total energy costs could be far higher.

New York man faces jail time for mining in office

Christopher Naples, an IT technician for Suffolk County in New York, could face up to 15 years in prison for mining Bitcoin in his offices. Accordingly Reports, the man brought 46 mining machines into the county offices and hid them under floorboards. Naples is now facing charges of public corruption, grand theft, computer theft and official misconduct.

Prosecutors say the machines consumed at least $6,000 worth of electricity, causing the temperature of the rooms where the miners were installed to rise by 20 degrees, affecting surrounding server rooms and offices. Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini said:

Not only do we have thousands of dollars in taxpayer dollars funding this operation, but it also puts the county's infrastructure at risk.

County employees had also complained about poor performance of air conditioning units and slow internet, resources that were shared and used by the mining machines scattered around the office.

Stealing power is nothing new

This is not the first time that a public official has stolen energy Mining cryptocurrencies. There have been several similar cases like this. The New York City Department of Education has cases from 2013 and 2014 in which employees attempted to mine Bitcoin using company equipment.

A Federal Reserve employee also attempted to mine cryptocurrencies using one of the institution's servers. That employee, Nicholas Berthaume, was punished $5,000 and spent 12 months on probation. In a press conference, Sini said emphasized:

We will not tolerate county employees already on the public payroll stealing taxpayer dollars and illegally using state resources for their own personal gain.

Suffolk County Clerk Judith A. Pascale said no land records were accessed or altered as a result of the mining activity.

What do you think about Naples stealing power to mine Bitcoin in public offices? Tell us in the comments section below.

Photo credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons