Creating Crypto Mines in Schools, 2 California Residents Indicted

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted two senior staff members of the Patterson Joint Unified School District in California for allegedly operating a cryptocurrency mine at the school.

Quoted from Yahoo Finance, Sunday (25/2/2024), according to the DOJ statement, assistant supervisor and business chief Jeffrey Mengeng and IT director Eric Drabert worked together to set up a crypto mining farm, utilizing school resources and electricity to generate profits.

The DOJ alleges Meng and Drabert purchased high-end graphics cards and and used school district electrical property to operate a crypto mining farm.

The statement did not specify the number of schools involved in the operation, which consisted of 10 schools serving around 6,200 students. Additionally, the type of cryptocurrency being mined is not disclosed.

Cryptocurrency mining is a process that requires special computers to solve complex mathematical problems to verify transactions on the network blockchain. This process can take a lot of energy and consume a lot of electricity.

In addition to the crypto mining operation, the DOJ accuses Meng of allegedly stealing funds ranging from USD 1 million or the equivalent of IDR 15.6 billion (assuming an exchange rate of IDR 15,694 per US dollar) to USD 1.5 million or the equivalent of IDR 23.5 billion.

Meanwhile, Drabert is suspected of stealing USD 250,000 or the equivalent of IDR 3.9 billion to USD 300,000 or the equivalent of IDR 4.7 billion. The incident comes amid a broader crackdown on crypto miners by US energy regulators, who are concerned about the industry's energy consumption.

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