The antivirus software entrepreneur John McAfee has been found dead in his cell in Spain from an apparent suicide, hours after the country’s highest court approved his extradition to the United States, where he was wanted on tax-related criminal charges that carry a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
CNN reported that his death came hours after a Spanish court approved his extradition to the U.S. on tax evasion charges on Wednesday.
Mr. McAfee apparently hanged himself, his lawyer told Reuters news agency. His death came after a ruling from a three-judge panel at Spain’s National Court in Madrid this week that McAfee could be extradited to the United States to face charges there. That decision could still have been appealed to a larger panel of judges at the same court, according to court documents.
McAfee had a cellmate at the prison, but that person was not in the cell around the time that McAfee was found dead, a prison official, who asked not to be named, told CNN. The official added the other person was out doing other normal activities at the prison. Asked if authorities had imposed special monitoring measures on McAfee in his cell, the official said, “I’m not aware of that.”
McAfee was arrested in Spain in October after being indicted in the United States for tax evasion months earlier.
He allegedly failed to file taxes for four years despite earning millions in income between 2014 and 2018 from promoting cryptocurrencies, consulting work, speaking engagements, and selling the rights to his life story for a documentary, according to court documents. The amount he owed was not specified in the indictment.
BBC reported the U.S. justice department saying Mr McAfee evaded tax liability by having his income paid into bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchange accounts in the names of nominees.
He was also accused of concealing assets, including a yacht and real estate property, also in other people’s names.
The entrepreneur, who was born in Gloucestershire, England, first came to prominence in the 1980s when he founded his tech company and released McAfee VirusScan.
Since making a fortune in the 1980s with the software that still bears his name, McAfee had engaged in increasingly erratic behavior, most recently as a self-styled cryptocurrency guru claiming to make $2,000 a day.
His namesake company ultimately became a household entity in antivirus security but tried to distance itself from its controversial founder after he resigned in 1994.
McAfee was purchased by the computer chip maker Intel in 2010 for $7.7bn and was folded into Intel’s larger cybersecurity division. The rebranding was short-lived, and Intel in 2016 spun out the cybersecurity unit into a new company called McAfee.
McAfee’s personal life often drew as much interest as his professional achievements. He twice made long-shot runs for the US presidency and was a participant in Libertarian party presidential debates in 2016. He dabbled in yoga, ultra-light aircraft, and producing herbal medications.
