Antivirus tycoon John McAfee, who was found dead in a Barcelona prison cell, was shrouded in controversy throughout his life. From murder to tax evasion.
McAfee is a British-born genius programmer who became famous in the 1980s after releasing McAfee VirusScan through the company McAfee Associates. His business grew into a multi-billion dollar business, but was abandoned in 1994.
McAfee's peak was in 2007 when his fortune reached USD 100 million, but his wealth plummeted in the financial crisis of 2007-2008. But lately, more controversies have been heard from him, such as various violations of the law.
Involved in murder
In 2012 McAfee caused a stir after one of his neighbors was found dead, and McAfee was labeled a 'person of interest' in the death of his neighbor, Gregory Faull.
Since then, McAfee has been a fugitive to leave the United States. He admitted that he was very afraid for his safety, even though he was not ultimately a suspect in the case.
This is not the first case against him. That same year, McAfee was also in trouble with the police for possessing illegal firearms.
Suspected of carrying ammunition
In July 2019, McAfee and members of his entourage were arrested while his cruise ship docked in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, on suspicion of carrying high-caliber weapons and ammunition. They were detained for four days before being released.
Spreading lies
McAfee made a hoax on August 11, 2020 claiming he was arrested in Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic, for wearing women's underwear as a mask and refusing to wear a proper mask.
He later posted a picture of himself on Twitter with a bruised eye, claiming that the bruises were caused during the shooting. But the alleged photo at the time of the arrest shows an officer in uniform with the words "police" in German, making it unlikely the arrest took place in Norway.
Augsburg, Germany police later confirmed that the photo was when McAfee was unable to enter Germany, not because he was wearing women's underwear as a mask.
Tax evasion
McAfee openly admitted not paying taxes for years, because he considered them illegal, as he tweeted in 2019. This was also used by the US Department of Justice to extradite McAfee after his arrest in Spain, which is tax evasion .
Fraud and money laundering
McAfee and his bodyguard Jimmy Gale Watson Jr. have been charged in a New York, US court for conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering using cryptocurrency or cryptocurrencies.
The two are accused of promoting cryptocurrency to McAfee's Twitter followers to drive up prices. According to prosecutors, the money was then allegedly sold and earned them millions of dollars. Neither McAfee nor Watson have commented on the allegations. McAfee is currently being held in Spain on tax charges pending extradition to the US.
It was previously reported that John McAfee was found dead in a Barcelona prison cell hours after a Spanish court agreed to extradite him to the US to face tax evasion charges. This antivirus captain died allegedly by suicide.
The Catalan regional police, Mossos d'Esquadra, confirmed this. The 75-year-old breathed his last in Brians 2 prison near Barcelona, Wednesday night local time.
In a statement, the Catalan justice department said prison officers and medical officers had tried to save McAfee's life, unfortunately but to no avail.
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NEWS & FACT