Bitcoin Grandma: 61-Year Old Jailed For Stealing Electricity While Mining

Bitcoin grandma was sentenced to four months in jail after she was caught stealing electricity while mining Bitcoin. In the latest cryptocurrency news coming from China, the 61-year old was fined 10,000 yuan as well for the theft.

Qiuping Tang was sentenced after the federal court in the Hebei Province of China made the decision based on the lawsuit filed by the Tangshan Power Supply Company. According to the Chinese media reports, the bitcoin grandma was charged with stealing about $1,300 worth of electricity between January and October 2018.

Bitcoin mining, as we already know, uses a lot of electricity so power theft is considered a serious crime. The Authorities say that Tang operated four bitcoin mining rigs, one regulator and one mobile device that used the stolen electricity. She earned about $940 from the mining activities but spent about $1,300 for the electricity costs. After she got arrested, she confessed to her crime and reimbursed the electricity company. Tang also paid the Chinese State Treasury and spent about $3,600 to settle her case.

This is the first time that a 61-year old bitcoin grandma has knowledge about cryptocurrencies and was able to mine bitcoin in her free time. This also surprised many people since crypto mining is the most popular among millennials at least in the United States.

As noted in the coming altcoin news, the people were stunned of the harsh decision that the Chinese authorities brought on an old woman who eventually confessed her crimes. It’s clear that they wanted to send a strong message for all the potential thieves out there. China has already cracked down on bitcoin mining among the problems coming up with scams and electricity theft. The government suppressed mining activities but it is still among the most popular activities in the country.

Back in 2018, the police in the city of Tianjin confiscated about 600 bitcoin mining computers which were considered as the biggest case of power theft in a while. The theft was discovered after the local power grid operator discovered an abnormal surge in electricity consumption. After they conducted an investigation, they found out that bitcoin miners tampered the junction box.

Also, in December last year, one bitcoin miner in Taiwan was arrested for mining approximately $14.5 million in crypto and operating 17 illegal crypto mining centers by using fake storefronts.