John McAfee was found dead in his cell in a Barcelona prison after the Spanish National Court authorized his extradition to the United States, the Catalan regional justice department reported. Everything indicates that the creator of the antivirus software that bears his last name has committed suicide, the agency added.
The higher court had agreed to extradite him to the United States, where he would face charges of tax evasion. McAfee, who was arrested at the Barcelona airport in October 2020, was an entrepreneur who was an entrepreneur, a millionaire, a retired former businessman with the life of an ascetic and a fugitive from justice.
The American tech entrepreneur was a pioneer in antivirus software, but after raising nearly $ 100 million from the sale of his company’s stock, he led a controversial life. He moved to Belize, where he tried to develop an antibiotic company, until little by little he retired from social life and began to publish videos where he appeared carrying weapons.
In 2012, after his neighbor was killed, he fled before being questioned by authorities. He was arrested in Guatemala, charged with illegal entry into the country, and deported to the United States. After that, he became a character persecuted by the media, and he himself contributed to his legend with self-parodic videos. Last year, he sought to run as a candidate for the Libertarian Party in his country’s presidential elections.
However, in recent months, his problems with the law multiplied. In October, US federal prosecutors filed a charge against McAfee for tax evasion and willful omission of returns. And this came shortly after the U.S. Securities Commission said it had filed a civil indictment against McAfee, alleging that he had obtained more than $ 23.1 million in undeclared income from false and misleading cryptocurrency recommendations.
McAfee had linked the allegations brought by the Internal Revenue Service to his failed attempt to run as a presidential candidate. Spanish prosecutor Carlos Bautista retorted that McAfee was simply a tax evader and dismissed political motivation, insisting that the Libertarian Party rarely gets more than 1% of the vote in elections.
The Spanish court had authorized the extradition, but only to face charges related to his 2016, 2017 and 2018 tax returns, as requested by the prosecution.
With information from Reuters
