• 1 The DoJ found two senior staff of Patterson Joint Unified School District for operating crypto mining operations.  

1 美國司法部發現帕特森聯合聯合學區的兩名高級工作人員負責營運加密貨幣挖礦業務。

• 2 Jeffrey Menge and Eric Drabert are two major names coming out behind the case. 

2 傑弗瑞‧門格和艾瑞克‧德拉伯特是此案背後的兩個重要人物。

Attempting crypto-mining operations in the school is becoming common nowadays. The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) uncovered many of such cases. Recently, the DoJ filed charges against senior staff members of the Patterson Joint Unified School District. The two senior staff including Jeffrey Menge and Eric Drabert addressed attempting crypto mining operations in the premises of 10 district schools.   

如今，嘗試在學校進行加密貨幣挖礦活動已經變得很常見。美國司法部（DoJ）發現了許多此類案件。最近，司法部對帕特森聯合聯合學區的高級工作人員提出指控。 Jeffrey Menge 和 Eric Drabert 等兩位資深員工嘗試在 10 所學區學校進行加密貨幣挖礦作業。

The Crypto Mining Fraud  

加密貨幣挖礦欺詐

Crypto mining is the approach of validating the facts in a blockchain by creating a cryptographic solution. The process requires a high amount of energy and mining resources and in return, the miners are provided with rewards in the form of tokens.  

加密挖掘是透過創建加密解決方案來驗證區塊鏈中的事實的方法。這個過程需要大量的能源和採礦資源，作為回報，礦工獲得代幣形式的獎勵。

To earn tokens, two senior staff of the school attempted crypto mining operations from over 10 district school premises. They were using the school resources and enhanced electricity costs for mining coins and transferring the rewards to their crypto wallets. 

為了賺取代幣，學校的兩名高級工作人員嘗試在 10 多個學區的校舍進行加密貨幣挖礦作業。他們利用學校資源和增加的電力成本來開採硬幣並將獎勵轉移到他們的加密錢包。

Eric Drabert is the IT director whereas Jeffrey Menge is the assistant superintendent and chief business officer of the school. High energy consumption seeks the attention of the authorities towards the scam.  

埃里克·德拉伯特 (Eric Drabert) 是學校的 IT 總監，而傑弗裡·門格 (Jeffrey Menge) 是學校的助理院長兼首席商務官。高能耗引起當局對此騙局的關注。

Mining operations require a high amount of energy. As per Coingecko data, around 266,000 kilowatt-hours which is equal to 7 years of continuous electricity is consumed in mining a single Bitcoin. 

採礦作業需要大量能源。根據 Coingecko 的數據，開採一個比特幣大約消耗 266,000 千瓦時，相當於 7 年的連續電力消耗。

According to DoJ, both the members, bought high-end graphic cards and installed the same on school property to develop a crypto mining setup. However, detailed facts about the scam have not been revealed yet, but it is expected that Bitcoin (BTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), Monero (XMR), and Ravecoin (RVN) will be mined. 

據司法部稱，兩名成員都購買了高端顯示卡，並將其安裝在學校場地上，以開發加密貨幣挖礦設置。然而，有關該騙局的詳細事實尚未披露，但預計比特幣 (BTC)、狗狗幣 (DOGE)、門羅幣 (XMR) 和 Ravecoin (RVN) 將被開採。

Furthermore, Menge stole over $1 Million and $1.5 Million whereas Drabert made around $250K and $300K during the fraud, confirmed DoJ.  

此外，美國司法部證實，Menge 盜竊了超過 100 萬美元和 150 萬美元，而 Drabert 在詐欺過程中分別獲利了約 25 萬美元和 30 萬美元。

How Regulatory is Handling the Situation

監管機構如何處理這種情況

The case of crypto mining on the school premises is not new. In August 2023, two individuals were arrested for stealing around $1.5 Million in electricity from Cohasset High School. The fraud was confirmed by Bulgarian law enforcement agents. 

在校舍進行加密貨幣挖礦的情況並不新鮮。 2023 年 8 月，兩人因從 Cohasset 高中竊取約 150 萬美元的電力而被捕。保加利亞執法人員證實了這項詐欺行為。

The scam took place between April 28 and December 14, 2021, and the miner was addressed stealing electricity worth $17,492.57 to operate the mining system. 

該騙局發生在 2021 年 4 月 28 日至 12 月 14 日期間，礦工被指控竊取價值 17,492.57 美元的電力來運行挖礦系統。

Keeping all these scenarios in mind, The DoJ and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) come up with a few of the rules for crypto miners. As per the new rule, crypto miners should report the energy utilization for six months. The initiative will help government bodies examine and understand the energy consumption in mining operations.   

考慮到所有這些情況，美國司法部和美國能源部 (DOE) 制定了一些針對加密貨幣礦工的規則。根據新規則，加密貨幣礦工應報告六個月的能源利用率。該倡議將幫助政府機構檢查和了解採礦作業的能源消耗。

The thing is that despite the growth of the cryptocurrency industry, high energy consumption is affecting the environment adversely. 

問題是，儘管加密貨幣行業不斷增長，但高能源消耗正在對環境產生不利影響。

To work on the concern, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) planned a survey. The survey will help the regulators in investigating and recording the energy usage by the local mining companies. Miners are required to provide information linked to energy usage. Investigating the details will help EIA understand energy consumption.        

為了解決這個問題，美國能源資訊署 (EIA) 計劃進行一項調查。該調查將有助於監管機構調查和記錄當地礦業公司的能源使用。礦工需要提供與能源使用相關的資訊。調查細節將有助於 EIA 了解能源消耗。