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The U.S. criminal justice system wants to extradite a Saskatoon man accused of hacking into American university systems to illegally use their supercomputers for cryptocurrency mining.
Ryan James Roach, 34, is accused of conspiring to commit unauthorized use of a computer, an offence that can carry up to 10 years in prison in Canada.
Roach maintains his innocence, according to his lawyer, Patricia Farnese.
An undisclosed U.S. educational institution suffered around $337,000 US in damages due to the breach, including the cost of shutting down systems, conducting forensic analysis and rebuilding compromised infrastructure.
Now, a Saskatoon King’s Bench judge has to decide whether the extradition can go ahead.
The judge will weigh whether U.S. evidence meets Canada’s extradition test and whether the alleged conduct would be enough for him to be charged in Canada.
Allegations tied to 2017 hacking
The case in the U.S. is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York.
According to court documents reviewed by CBC, U.S. prosecutors allege Roach conspired with another Canadian man in Ontario to gain unauthorized access to university computer networks.
Prosecutors allege Roach stole login credentials, installed malware and hacked into remote servers to access the supercomputers. They say that computing power was then redirected to mine a crypto coin called Electroneum.
Crypto mining is not illegal. The issue in this case, experts say, is how the computing power was allegedly obtained.
Andreas Park, a professor at the University of Toronto who studies blockchain systems, said supercomputers are clusters of computers designed to handle large scientific workloads, and in this case are most likely university supercomputers being used for research.
“It’s the same thing as you take your neighbor’s car and you drive it as an Uber, or a policeman taking a police car and driving it as an Uber, right? That’s not allowed, that’s abuse of public resources,” Park said.
FBI investigation leads to arrest
According to court filings, investigators with the Federal Bureau of Investigation traced what they called a digital trail linking the alleged hack to Roach.
The documents say investigators analyzed IP addresses, server logs, email accounts and hosting records, alleging stolen credentials and malware were used to access university supercomputers remotely.
Prosecutors say the forensic evidence forms part of the basis for the extradition request, though the allegations have not been tested at trial.
Roach was arrested in December 2025 and held in custody until he was released on bail last month after a King’s Bench judge found detention was not necessary.
In that ruling, the judge noted Roach has no criminal record and the allegations date back nearly eight years. The judge said there was no evidence of similar conduct since 2017 and that the other person involved may have played a more central role in the alleged hacking.
The judge imposed strict release conditions, including limits on internet-connected devices, reporting requirements and prohibitions on contact with the co-accused.
Farnese told CBC News her client wants people to know he did not commit the crime he’s accused of.
Extradition hearing
The extradition hearing, set for April 3 in Saskatoon, is not a criminal trial and will not determine guilt or innocence.
Instead, a judge will weigh whether U.S. evidence meets Canada’s extradition test and whether the alleged conduct would be enough for him to be charged in Canada.
If a judge commits Roach for extradition, the final decision on whether he is surrendered to the U.S. rests with Canada’s federal justice minister.
In an email, the U.S. justice department declined to comment on the case.