Life unfolds in an unpredictable manner; you never know what will happen next. Amidst the coronavirus crisis, there is far too many other saddening news from around the world. John McAfee, the founder of McAfee antivirus software, committed suicide in jail.
According to the police sources, the 75-year-old was discovered dead in his jail cell on Wednesday. Earlier on Wednesday, Spain’s National Court granted McAfee’s extradition to the United States.
According to the Spanish newspaper, McAfee was found dead in a Barcelona jail cell on Wednesday, stating police sources. According to sources, McAfee committed suicide while awaiting extradition to the United States on tax-related criminal charges.
McAfee’s death was confirmed by the Catalan justice department.
The very same day, Spain’s National Court approved McAfee’s extradition to the United States to face the charges.
McAfee not only founded an antivirus but also made his fortune selling antivirus software. He was allegedly detained at Barcelona’s airport last October and imprisoned pending extradition hearings.
McAfee was charged twice by the US Department of Justice: once for tax evasion from 2014 to 2018. And then he was charged for the “fraudulent promotion of cryptocurrencies to investors.” McAfee was also found guilty for not disclosing his earnings from cryptocurrency and speaking fees and selling the rights to his biography for a documentary.
According to the reports, the charges carried a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
McAfee was fighting extradition and testified earlier this month that he would be forced to spend the rest of his life behind bars if he was sent to the US. Despite his imprisonment, the outspoken billionaire’s Twitter account remained active, praising cryptocurrency and crusading against his prosecution.
Born in the United Kingdom and brought up in Roanoke, Virginia, McAfee rose to prominence after founding an antivirus software company in 1987. By the late 1980s, large US corporations were using McAfee’s software, and Intel purchased the company for $7.6 billion in 2010. His focus shifted to cryptocurrency and political activism after launching the antivirus software.
The founder left the company and quickly sold all of his shares for $100 million, earlier, in 1994.
McAfee relocated to Belize and founded the biotech firm Quorumex after reportedly losing much of his fortune in the 2008 financial crisis. In Belize, the tycoon confessed to bribing coast guard members to keep them from interfering with his ferry business.
In an email reviewed by Wired, McAfee wrote, “My fragile connection with the world of polite society has, without a doubt, been severed. My attire would rank me among the worst-dressed Tijuana panhandlers. My hygiene is no better.”
Shortly after McAfee returned to the United States in 2015, Tennessee police officers allegedly arrested him for driving under the influence and possessing a handgun while intoxicated. McAfee previously admitted to news outlets that he had struggled with drug and alcohol addiction throughout his life.
McAfee also filed paperwork to run as a Libertarian candidate in the 2016 presidential election the same year. However, he lost the party nomination to the former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson.
McAfee, who even admitted that he had lost his entire cryptocurrency fortune, recently actively tweeted his political and technological contemplations. He frequently praised cryptocurrency, claiming that “crypto is the key to unlocking our prisons.”
He recently tweeted, “The US believes I have hidden crypto. I wish I did, but it has dissolved through the many hands of Team McAfee. My friends evaporated through fear of association. I have nothing. Yet, I regret nothing.”
