The charges against the school district staff members coincide with the U.S. energy regulator's recent clampdown on crypto mining activities.
The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged two senior staff members of the Patterson Joint Unified School District for allegedly operating a crypto mining operation on the premises of the district's ten schools, utilizing school resources and running up the electricity costs.
In a recent statement, the DoJ claimed that Jeffrey Menge, assistant superintendent, and chief business officer of Patterson Joint Unified School District, along with Eric Drabert, IT director for the school district, worked together to operate a crypto mining farm and transferred all the crypto into their own crypto wallets thereafter.
However, the statement did not provide clarity on how many schools in the district were used for the crypto mining operation, which comprises 10 schools serving about 6,200 students. Additionally, the type of crypto mined was not disclosed.
