John McAfee, the creator of McAfee antivirus, was found dead in his Barcelona prison cell, Reuters reports.
McAfee’s death comes just hours after Spanish courts allowed for his extradition to the United States.
Getting subtle messages from U.S. officials saying, in effect: “We’re coming for you McAfee! We’re going to kill yourself”. I got a tattoo today just in case. If I suicide myself, I didn’t. I was whackd. Check my right arm.$WHACKD available only on https://t.co/HdSEYi9krq🙂 pic.twitter.com/rJ0Vi2Hpjj
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) November 30, 2019
The death will likely be deemed a suicide. He was 75.
McAfee was set to face charges of tax evasion once back in the US.
McAfee was arrested in Barcelona in October 2020, and believed that he was being targeted by the IRS over his failed bid to run as leader of the Libertarian Party in 2020.
The worst thing about Spanish prisons is the food.
If I never again have to eat stale bread and a cold hot dog my life would be complete.
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) April 14, 2021
Spanish authorities, however, say that McAfee was simply a tax dodger, adding that the Libertarian Party often gets less than one percent of the vote in US elections.
McAfee charged with federal crimes in March
In March of this year, prosecutors unveiled federal charges against both McAfee and a business partner in relation to inflating the value of crypto.
They listed alongside one Jimmy Gale Watson Jr. in the press release. Officials cite the 40-year-old executive advisor to McAfee’s “so-called cryptocurrency team” as a co-conspirator to commit “commodities and securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities and touting fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and substantive wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy offenses.”
US authorities assert the crime was committed by both individuals through McAfee’s Twitter account, using it to peddle various digital token alternatives to Bitcoin. In addition, on a separate charge, the duo didn’t disclose their personal stakes they had with the ICOs in question.
