In July 2021, a mining company hired Rankin as an employee — the name of the company is not disclosed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York. In addition to performing his duties, the new employee gained access to 100 of his employer's computers and redirected corporate computing power to his own mining pool. The mined assets were transferred by the violator to Bitcoin addresses under his control.
Due to Rankin's actions, the company's equipment operated in a "high-performance mode," significantly reducing the lifespan of the computers and compromising the integrity of stored data, claims the prosecutor's office. As a result, the company lost 1.06683386 BTC, which it could have mined itself — at the time of the crime, these assets were worth $53,315.
The prosecutor's office charged the man with transmitting malicious code and commands to protected computers, as well as causing damage to property. The maximum penalty for these charges provides for one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Rankin is currently awaiting sentencing — the court is scheduled to announce it on November 17, 2026.
A similar situation occurred earlier in Russia. The head of the electrical engineering laboratory of the Tyazhmash enterprise in Syzran was suspected of illegally using electricity for mining for almost four years.
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