Two People Sentenced for Illegally Tapping High-Voltage Power Lines to Mine Bitcoin in Pigsty; Ringleader Receives 10-Year Sentence

金色财经_ · 2026-04-03T12:28:37+00:00

Zhang Mou and Zhao Mou illegally tapped into the oilfield high-voltage line to "steal electricity." They set up Bitcoin mining machines in an abandoned pigsty for mining. Ultimately, they were sentenced by the court to fixed-term imprisonment and fines. Zhang Mou received a ten-year prison sentence for theft, while Zhao Mou was sentenced to four years and ten months and was required to compensate for the value of the stolen electricity.

金色财经_

2026-04-03 12:28:37

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Jinse Finance reports that on April 3, according to China News Weekly, Zhang and Zhao used an illegal setup to profit by illegally tapping high-voltage power lines at an oil field (“stealing electricity”) and installed 36 Bitcoin mining machines in a disused pigsty. The reporter learned from the China Judgments Online that recently, the Honggang District People’s Court of Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, released a first-instance judgment. The court, for the crime of theft, sentenced Zhang to ten years’ imprisonment and Zhao to four years and ten months’ imprisonment, respectively.
After trial, it was found that on September 8, 2024, Zhang illegally tapped the oil-field high-voltage line of an oil production plant of a certain limited liability company in Daqing. In a disused pigsty in the slaughterhouse premises he rented, Zhang used the stolen electricity to power Bitcoin mining machines. Zhang first purchased 24 mining machines. Later, Zhang contacted Zhao, inviting him to join, and they jointly operated Bitcoin mining machines for mining activities.
On August 1, 2025, Zhang and Zhao were arrested by public security authorities. After calculation, Zhang stole 565,375.2 kilowatt-hours of electricity from the oil field, worth RMB 438,580.52. Zhao, starting from December 12, 2024, stole 468,060 kilowatt-hours of oil-field electricity, worth RMB 363,750.78.
The court’s decision: Zhang committed the crime of theft and was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment, and was fined RMB 50,000; Zhao committed the crime of theft and was sentenced to four years and zero ten months’ imprisonment, and was fined RMB 20,000. Zhang was ordered to make restitution of RMB 438,580.52, and Zhao bears joint responsibility for restitution of RMB 363,750.78 of that amount. As for the Bitcoin mining machines, mobile phones, switches, transformers, and other items seized in this case, the public security authorities shall handle them according to law.

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