COHASSET – An ex-town employee has been accused of running an illicit business in a Cohasset High School building. Nadeam Nahas, a 39-year-old former assistant facilities director, was set to be arraigned at Quincy District Court on Thursday, but failed to appear, prompting the judge to issue an arrest warrant.
Police say the sham business was discovered by another person in a “remote crawl space” underneath the school in December 2020. Upon further inspection, the individual noticed several computers and electrical wires that seemed out of the ordinary.
Investigation into the matter revealed that the operation was illegally using power from the high school’s electrical system. With the assistance of the Coast Guard and Homeland Security, police were able to safely removed the mining equipment and trace its origin.
Cohasset Police
Consequently, Nahas was arrested and charged with larceny over $1,200, destruction of property, trespassing, and breaking and entering at night.
Investigations have revealed an alleged cryptocurrency ‘mining operation’ running in the crawlspace of Cohasset High School, believed to be administered by a former town employee. Larry Glazer, Managing Partner at Mayflower Advisors in Boston, stated that it appeared the suspect had been using the facility to generate their own profits from public funds.
“It’s something that can’t be done quickly or easily at home in the Northeast, given the high cost of electricity,” Glazer said. “Essentially, the assailant was stealing electricity from the taxpayers and the community.”
Following a three-month probe, police apprehended the individual for misappropriation of electricity and vandalism of school property. The suspect left their job in 2020, according to police.
Cohasset Public Schools issued a statement to WBZ-TV, saying, “We cooperated with the Cohasset Police throughout the investigation,” though they declined to comment further.
Cryptocurrencies, also known as digital money, can be created or purchased through a process called ‘mining’, which requires specialized computer processors and substantial amounts of electrical energy. As CBS News explains, this is often uneconomical to do at home.
