Mexico Seizes 300 Crypto Mining Rigs Tied to Power Theft
Cryptocurrency mining is legal in Mexico, but the industry’s heavy, round-the-clock electricity demand makes illicit grid connections a costly enforcement issue. The Federal Electricity Commission said theft, meter tampering and unauthorized hookups caused 6,346 gigawatt-hours of non-technical losses from January through July 2024, valued at about 13.8 billion pesos ($817 million). A clandestine operation drawing from federal hydropower infrastructure therefore raises concerns extending beyond crypto regulation to energy security and organized financial crime.
On Sept. 6, 2026, the Fiscalía General de la República, Mexico’s Navy and Puebla state police secured a site in Tlaola, in the remote Sierra Norte, and seized 300 crypto mining machines. Authorities also found transformers, medium-voltage terminals and operational satellite internet antennas. Officials said the facility had made a large unauthorized connection to the federal hydroelectric complex supplied by the Nuevo Necaxa dam. Prosecutors are pursuing suspected electricity theft while forensic accountants trace the hardware’s financing; the Federal Electricity Commission is assisting, and money laundering has not been ruled out.
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The history behind this eventSEC Sues Mining Automatic, Founder Over Alleged $22 Million Crypto Fraud
Crypto mining investments are exposed to volatile token prices, power costs and rising network difficulty, making claims of guaranteed returns a regulatory red flag. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says Mining Automatic, operated through Bright Vision Distribution LLC, presented itself as an experienced mining business able to produce steady monthly payouts. The case is significant because it highlights how technically complex crypto ventures can be used to market investment contracts while obscuring whether investor capital is actually funding revenue-generating operations.
On July 20, 2026, the SEC filed partially settled charges against Mining Automatic and founder Zan Shaikh in federal court in Massachusetts. The agency alleges they raised about $22 million from more than 380 investors between June 2023 and May 2025, while using only about 13% of the money for purported mining expenses. The operation generated roughly $1.1 million in mining revenue but paid about $1.8 million in investor returns, meaning some payouts allegedly came from other investors’ funds. The SEC says at least $20 million more was collected than repaid; the defendants consented to permanent injunctions, with financial remedies to be decided by the court.
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