National Science Institute
{{short description|Defunct U.S. nonprofit}}
{{Other uses|Institute of Science (disambiguation){{!}}Institute of Science}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = National Science Institute
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| abbreviation = NSI
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| formation = {{Start date and age|1994}}
| founder = Chris Boden
| founding_location = Grand Valley State University
| dissolved = {{end date and age|2018|12|31}}
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| type = NGO
| status = 501(c)(3) Non-profit
| purpose = Education
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| location = Grand Rapids, MI
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| formerly = The Boehemian Brothers, GeNext! & The Geek Group
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The National Science Institute (NSI), previously known as The Geek Group, was a not-for-profit educational organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The group opened to the public on January 1, 2014, and said in May of that year that it had over 25,000 members in 142 countries.{{Cite web |last=Weick |first=Rachel |date=2014-05-09 |title=Geek Group provides access to technology |url=https://grbj.com/news/geek-group-provides-access-to-technology/ |access-date=2022-02-28 |website=Grand Rapids Business Journal |language=en-US}}
The organization's president and executive director chose to close the organization on December 31, 2018, following a sealed search warrant executed by the United States Department of Homeland Security and three other federal agencies.{{cite web|url=https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/the-national-science-institute-shutting-down/1680937370|title=GR tech group blames fed search fallout for shutdown|accessdate=December 31, 2018|date=December 31, 2018|publisher=24 Hour News 8}} Two of its executives were sentenced to jail time, and one of its consultants received probation, for crimes at a bitcoin exchange service that it operated.
History
The organization was started in 1996 at the Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan as a group of friends, experimenting with university surplus equipment.{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}} The group grew over several years, and several name changes into a small company, The Geek Group, leasing a building in Grand Rapids at 344 Ionia Ave SW. The Geek Group later moved to Kalamazoo and became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.{{cite web|title=Exempt Organizations|url=https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/pub78Search.do?ein1=38-3600686&names=&city=&state=MI&country=US&deductibility=all&dispatchMethod=searchCharities&submitName=Search|website=IRS|accessdate=17 September 2017}} In early 2010 the Kalamazoo County Treasurer seized the organization's headquarters, which was then located in Kalamazoo Township, Michigan, a suburb of Kalamazoo, after the organization refused to pay property taxes of over $100,000.{{Cite web|url=http://wkzo.com/news/articles/2010/mar/11/does-group-owe-taxes/|title=Does Group Owe Taxes|website=AM 590 WKZO|language=en-US|access-date=2016-10-08}}{{Cite web|url=http://hackaday.com/2010/03/16/tax-exempt-geek-group-hit-with-huge-tax-bill/|title=Tax-exempt Geek Group hit with huge tax bill|last=By|website=Hackaday|date=16 March 2010 |access-date=2016-10-08}} The organization appealed, unsuccessfully.
NSI was sponsored by many companies, the majority of them small businesses local to the organization, but also some larger companies such as Rustoleum. They supplemented this donation income by charging for some research and development services.{{cite web
|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123107726
|title=Geek's Dream Lab Could Create Jobs in Michigan
|publisher=NPR
|first=Dustin|last=Dwyer
|date=1 February 2010
}} They ran a YouTube channel, serving as an extension of their digital education program. As of 2025, the channel had over 162,000 subscribers and 713 videos.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/user/thegeekgroup|title=thegeekgroup|website=YouTube|language=en|access-date=2025-06-07}} In addition to technical tool training videos, the channel regularly produced several educational video series, including equipment autopsies and machine tutorials.
The organization moved back to Grand Rapids in December 2010{{cite web|url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/38-3600686|title=Geek Group Inc|last=|first=|date=20 June 2018|work=GuideStar|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620203748/https://www.guidestar.org/profile/38-3600686|archive-date=20 June 2018|access-date=|ref=guidestar}} a {{Convert|43,000|sqft||abbr=|adj=on}} facility situated on Leonard Street NW, dubbed "The Leonard Street Labs."{{cite web|last1=Radigan|first1=Mary|title=Geek Group is renovating former West YMCA as new headquarters|url=http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2011/01/geek_group_is_renovating_forme.html|website=MLive|date=17 January 2011 |publisher=Grand Rapids Press|accessdate=17 September 2017}} On January 2, 2014, a fire partially destroyed the organization's High Voltage Lab, and deposited soot all over the lab. A grub screw on a Tesla coil rotary spark gap was not tight enough, allowing a tungsten electrode to move out of its socket and strike one of the stationary electrodes. This resulted in a chain reaction with molten tungsten being flung from the spark gap unit, which caused a nearby capacitor array to catch fire and subsequently melt. From preliminary analysis, Project Gemini (a 200,000 watt Tesla coil demonstration) looked to be the originating cause, and was completely destroyed, and Project Thumper (a high impulse generator) was damaged. The fire was hot enough to melt aluminum racks. Although no one was hurt, the building was closed to the public once again for repairs.{{cite web|url=http://hackaday.com/2014/01/03/fire-at-the-geek-group/|title=Fire At The Geek Group|date=January 3, 2014|publisher=Hack A Day|accessdate=January 3, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/277422/14/Fire-damages-Geek-Group-in-Grand-Rapids|title=Fire damages Geek Group in Grand Rapids|date=January 2, 2014|publisher=WZZM13|accessdate=January 3, 2014}}
Federal raid and aftermath
On December 21, 2018, the National Science Institute's laboratory at 902 Leonard Street NW was raided by Homeland Security, the IRS, and several other federal agencies.{{cite news |last1=Tunison |first1=John |title=Grand Rapids tech group raided by feds |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2018/12/grand-rapids-tech-group-raided-by-feds.html |work=MLinve |date=December 21, 2018 |language=en}} After the raid, the NSI could not meet its financial obligations, and shut down on December 31, 2018.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuIRvn89988 |title=The Chris Boden Prison Story - It Gets Better |date=2024-08-14 |last=Chris Boden |access-date=2025-02-18 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |date=2018-12-31 |title=Tech center, once the 'Geek Group,' shuts down for good after raid |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2018/12/education-technology-center-once-the-geek-group-shuts-down-for-good-after-raid.html |access-date=2022-02-28 |website=mlive |language=en}} The Leonard Street Labs building was demolished to make way for Victory on Leonard, a 119-unit apartment building.{{cite news |last1=Ferguson |first1=Christa |title=Apartments and more: The vision for Victory on Leonard in Grand Rapids |url=https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/apartments-and-more-the-vision-for-victory-on-leonard-in-grand-rapids/ |access-date=May 13, 2025 |work=WOOD-TV |date=March 6, 2021}}
On January 5, 2019, Christopher Boden, the founder of the organization, said that the raid took place "because he was commercially trading in cryptocurrency without the proper authorization", and that he believed he was facing prison time.{{Cite web |date=2019-01-06 |title=Geek Group founder discusses criminal investigation |url=https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/geek-group-founder-discusses-criminal-investigation/ |access-date=2022-03-15 |website=WOODTV.com |language=en-US}} The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Boden, Daniel Reynold DeJager, and Leesa Beth Vogt operated a service whereby cryptocurrency was being purchased, mixed, and resold, including to drug dealers, without following any anti-money laundering or know your customer procedures. The DOJ also said that Boden solicited an undercover agent to collect a bitcoin debt "by using violence if necessary."{{cite press release |title=Three Defendants Sentenced For Illegal Bitcoin Business |url=https://www.justice.gov/Usao-wdmi/pr/2022_0228_Boden |access-date=May 11, 2025 |work=U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Michigan |agency=United States Department of Justice |date=1 March 2022 |language=en}}
Boden pleaded guilty to money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and structuring,{{cite news |last1=Agar |first1=John |title=Ex-leader of The Geek Group pleads guilty in Bitcoin money-laundering scheme |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2021/10/ex-leader-of-the-geek-group-pleads-guilty-in-bitcoin-money-laundering-scheme.html |work=MLive |date=October 18, 2021 |language=en}} and was sentenced to 30 months' incarceration, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Vogt pleaded guilty to structuring, and was sentenced to 10 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. DeJager pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and was sentenced to four years of probation.{{cite news |last1=Tunison |first1=John |title=Ex-leader of The Geek Group gets prison for Bitcoin money-laundering scheme |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2022/02/ex-leader-of-the-geek-group-gets-prison-for-bitcoin-money-laundering-scheme.html |access-date=May 11, 2025 |work=MLive |date=February 28, 2022 |language=en}}
References
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External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20181211151038/https://thensi.org/ Official website (archived copy)]
- [https://www.youtube.com/user/thegeekgroup The Geek Group's YouTube channel]
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Science Institute, The}}
Category:Educational organizations based in the United States
Category:Charities based in Michigan