BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Christopher Rankin, 40, of Washington State, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer to transmitting a program, information, code, or command to a protected computer and causing damage, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison, and a fine of $100,000.

In July 2021, Rankin was hired by a bitcoin mining company located in Niagara Falls, NY. Bitcoin mining is the process of validating bitcoin transaction information on the ledger of transactions on which bitcoin is based. The company connected to mining pools, which consist of multiple miners who combine their computing power and split the resulting profits. Rankin accessed, without authorization, 100 computers used by the company and manually reset the computers, directing them to a mining pool that he created. Rankin then sent bitcoin from the fraudulent mining pool to bitcoin wallets that he controlled. While doing so, Rankin put the computers in "high-performance" mode, causing damage to the computers by severely limiting their lifespan, and impairing the integrity and availability of information contained on the computers. Rankin's actions led to the company losing 1.06683386 BTC bitcoin, which, at the time of offense, amounted to $53,315.75 being stolen by Rankin.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. Kruly. The plea is the result of an investigation by the United States Secret Service, Buffalo Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charles T. Perras.

Sentencing is scheduled for November 17, 2026, before Judge Roemer.

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