Rodrigo Sebastián Tamarasco R. has been sentenced to two years of effective imprisonment for stealing electricity used to mine cryptocurrency in Ciudad del Este. The sentence was handed down by Permanent Trial Court No. 2 of the Sixth Judicial District of Alto Paraná, which found the clandestine operation of a mega facility in the Pablo Rojas neighborhood to be proven.
The case began on April 11, 2023, during a fiscal and police raid on the property. ANDE technicians identified an irregular connection hooked up directly to a three-phase medium-voltage line ahead of the meter, with no legal registration or billing. The scheme powered a 300 kVA transformer and various high-powered cryptocurrency mining equipment, an activity that demands heavy electricity consumption.
The financial loss caused to the state electricity utility was calculated at G. 2,366,129,189, equivalent to approximately 381,000 dollars at the current exchange rate. Final Judgment No. 58, dated May 20, 2026, declared the crime had been committed and the accused was responsible.
The court was presided over by Judge Fabio Aguilar Benítez and included magistrates Serafín González and Vitalia Duarte. The prosecution was led by prosecutor Alcides Agustín Giménez Zorrilla. In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the confiscation of all assets seized in the operation, including cables, crossarms, lightning arresters, fuse holder cartridges, and the transformer used in the illegal activity.