Christopher Naples, a former I.T. supervisor with Suffolk County, has been arrested and charged with several offenses for mining cryptocurrencies in a government facility.
According to the New York Times, Naples was accused of using thousands of dollars in stolen electricity to power 46 devices used for cryptocurrency mining.
The mining rigs were spread out and hidden in six different locations within the Suffolk County Center. Naples hid some rigs under floorboards and inside electrical boxes.
He has been slammed with multiple charges, including police corruption, grand larceny, computer trespassing, and official misconduct. His defense team is yet to make a statement on the issue, and he could face a maximum jail sentence of 15 years if found guilty.
Investigators allege that Naples has been running his operation since at least February with an initial ten rigs. They also estimate that the former supervisor’s energy usage was more than $6,000 on the ten machines, qualifying it as a grand larceny case.
Suffolk Country’s District Attorney Timothy D Sini said at a news conference that “we’re talking about an enormous amount of energy.” He added they were yet to compile an estimate on just how much the 36 additional machines used up.
Naples has been on Suffolk County’s payroll since 2000. He admitted that the equipment was his and that he had been using it for several months. Naples was arraigned Wednesday and released on his own recognizance.
