John McAfee, the billionaire antivirus software pioneer and crypto promoter, has died by suicide in a prison cell in Barcelona after a Spanish court authorized his extradition to the United States, where he faced tax evasion charges, his attorney Javier Villalba told Reuters. McAfee was 75.
Fast facts:
- McAfee had spent the past 9 months in prison following his arrest at Barcelona airport for alleged U.S. securities law violations and tax evasion while attempting to board a plane to Istanbul with a British passport. He has claimed during his extradition hearings the accusations against him were politically motivated.
- Earlier this year, McAfee was indicted on cryptocurrency fraud charges in New York State for an alleged “pump-and-dump” scheme, following indictments in Tennessee on tax evasion charges. He had been on the run from prosecutors until his arrest, spending some of that time on his megayacht.
- McAfee, who earlier had founded the eponymous antivirus software that currently has 500 million users worldwide, sold the company to Intel in 2010 for US$7.7 billion.
- In mid-October last year, McAfee posted a tweet from prison that offered chilling hints to what was to unfold. “I am content in here. I have friends. The food is good. All is well. Know that if I hang myself, a la Epstein, it will be no fault of mine.”