John McAfee, known for the antivirus software he created and named after himself, has died in a Spanish prison just outside of Barcelona.
According to a report by the BBC, a statement by the Catalan Justice Department says that “everything indicates” McAfee, 75, committed suicide.
His death follows just hours after Spain’s Nation Court approved his extradition to the U.S., where he faces tax evasion charges and accusations of fraud and money laundering.
Per the same BBC report, efforts were made by the prison’s medical team to revive McAfee but the antivirus pioneer was eventually declared dead.
John McAfee: Who was He?
(Photo : Jon Evans from Wikimedia Commons)
John McAfee is best known as a computer programmer and businessman who founded software company McAfee Associates in 1987. The company went on to develop an eponymous antivirus software, its first ever.
According to Bloomberg, McAfee resigned from the company in 1994, claiming he no longer enjoyed running a company with thousands of employees. Intel eventually bought and rebranded the company in 2010.
Related Article: Intel’s decision to dump McAfee name delights antivirus software creator
In 2016, McAfee made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency of the U.S.
John McAfee and Cryptocurrency
One of McAfee’s succeeding career and business ventures focus on cryptocurrency. In 2017, he became the CEO of MGT Capital Investments Inc. before resigning and moving to cryptocurrency company Luxcore as its CEO.
While promoting initial coin offerings on social media, Bloomberg reports that McAfee charged $105,000 per tweet to do so. At some point, he even offered to give $100,000 to anyone who can hack his crypto-wallet.
McAfee Arrested Over Tax Evasion Charges
McAfee was arrested and detained in October last year after he was indicted for failing to file U.S. tax returns from 2014 to 2018. According to the BBC, he was able to do this by storing his earnings in bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchange accounts not in his name.
He was also accused of concealing personally-owned assets by listing them under other people’s names. These assets include a yacht and real estate property.
A report by NPR also states that McAfee was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission over a “pump and dump scheme.” McAfee was accused of failing to disclose $23 million in compensation in relation to cryptocurrency.
McAfee and the Murder of Gregory Faull
Tax evasion and money laundering weren’t the only reasons McAfee went on the run in an attempt to hide from authorities.
In 2012, McAfee became a “person of interest” following the murder of Gregory Faull, his neighbor in Belize who had been shot dead. He fled to Guatemala, where he attempted to seek political asylum but was instead arrested for illegally entering the country. He was then deported to the U.S.
The wrongful death lawsuit charged against him in relation to the murder was dropped in 2014.
Also Read: Antivirus pioneer John McAfee wants to ‘start a revolution’
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Written by Isabella James
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