Hong Kong Care Home Crypto Mining Scandal: Workers Exploit Elderly Electricity for Digital Gold Rush
Hong Kong care facilities become unlikely crypto mines as workers hijack electricity to power underground mining operations.
THE POWER GRAB
Employees at multiple care homes rerouted subsidized energy supplies to fuel 24/7 cryptocurrency mining rigs—bypassing security protocols and draining resources meant for elderly residents. The scheme ran for months before auditors noticed anomalous power consumption patterns.
REGULATORY WHACK-A-MOLE
Local authorities now scramble to patch oversight gaps while facility managers implement real-time energy monitoring. Yet critics note this is just another case of decentralized finance outpacing centralized regulation—because nothing says 'financial innovation' like stealing electricity from seniors to chase digital pump-and-dumps.
Crypto Miners Secretly Drain Power and Internet from Care Facilities
The miners ran non-stop, drawing power and bandwidth from the facilities’ systems.
The case came to light when one care home reported unusually sluggish internet performance and elevated power consumption.
Inspector Ng Tsz-wing of the Sham Shui Po police district’s technology and financial crime unit said the facility’s IT team discovered unauthorized equipment hidden above the ceiling tiles during a routine check.
“After in-depth investigation and analysis, police found that the two men from an engineering company took the opportunity of facilities upgrading in August and connected the mining machine to the institutions’ network and power system,” Ng said.
“And they proceeded to mine cryptocurrency.”
The suspects, who have worked at the engineering firm for several years, were arrested on Friday in Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po.
Police believe the operation was not part of a wider syndicate, describing it as an isolated incident.
"This ruined me."
As financial scams explode worldwide, this is the story of how a retiree in Hong Kong fell for a crypto scam and lost his life savings. More on Bloomberg Investigates: https://t.co/Qx3YcWoQaU pic.twitter.com/cpF792tGvI
While the institutions involved were not named, authorities are continuing their investigation. Under Hong Kong’s Theft Ordinance, unauthorized use of electricity carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Inspector Ng urged the public to remain vigilant during facility upgrades. “The public should also pay more attention to electricity bills or network usage and make relevant checks and notify police in case they find some suspicious circumstances,” he said.
Francis Fong Po-kiu, honorary chairman of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, noted that the cost of mining cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is high due to the intense power demands of running mining equipment continuously.
“It is like turning on your air conditioning all day,” Fong said. “Some bad people may take the risk of breaking the law to save on electricity to generate their bitcoin.”
Crypto Influencer ‘CP3O’ Sentenced for $4.5M Cryptojacking Scheme
Last month, Charles O. Parks III, known online as “CP3O,” was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for orchestrating a $4.5 million cryptojacking scheme.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Parks stole computing power and storage from major cloud providers and used it to illegally mine cryptocurrency between January and August 2021.
The DOJ says Parks converted his illicit gains into cash and used the funds to finance a lavish lifestyle, including a Mercedes-Benz, luxury hotels, jewelry, and first-class travel.
Despite portraying himself as a self-made crypto success on social media, authorities say his wealth was rooted in fraud.
