# Guilty Plea Related Articles

Secretly Mined 1 BTC on Work Computers: Crypto Firm Employee Faces Prison

Christopher Rankin, a 40-year-old from Washington state, pleaded guilty to unauthorized access to computers at a bitcoin mining company and theft of cryptocurrency. While employed at the New York-based company starting in July 2021, Rankin gained unauthorized access to approximately 100 company computers. He manually rebooted them and redirected their mining power to a fraudulent mining pool he controlled, causing the mined bitcoin (1.0668 BTC, worth approximately $53,315 at the time) to be sent to wallets under his control. Additionally, he set the computers to a high-performance mode, which prosecutors stated caused physical damage, significantly reducing their lifespan, and compromised the integrity and availability of data stored on them. Rankin was found guilty of transmitting a program, information, code, or command to a protected computer, causing damage. The maximum penalty for this offense is up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. His sentencing is scheduled for November 17, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer.

cryptonews.ru8h ago