John McAfee, the creator of the eponymous antivirus software, was found dead on Wednesday in a prison outside Barcelona. He was 75 years old.

In recent years, McAfee has been a prominent boost to cryptocurrencies, failing to run for the US president, violating the law many times, and trading in extreme conspiracy theories.

McAfee was found dead in a cell after a Spanish state court approved the transfer to the United States on multiple charges of tax evasion. Security guards at Brian 2 Prison in northeastern Spain tried to revive him but failed, the Associated Press quoted a statement from the local government.

McAfee has been detained in Spain since October in a US indictment in June 2020 and was charged with failing to file a four-year tax return while concealing assets.Then in March, he Prosecution The prosecutor said he had brought $ 13 million in illegal profits to McAfee and his conspirators.

Founder of McAfee Associates Inc. and MGT Capital Investments Inc. John McAfee, Chief Cyber ​​Security Visionary, listens in an interview with Shapethe’s bystander Bloomberg Television.

McAfee lawyer Nishay Sanan said his colleague in Spain confirmed that McAfee was found dead in his cell. Mr Sanan claimed that the US government had targeted McAfee and “tried to eliminate him but failed.”

“John lived his life in a way that suits him,” Sanan said. “In the end, that’s all that matters. You don’t have to agree with his way. He didn’t care.”

The Justice Department declined to comment, and a spokeswoman introduced the question to the Spanish authorities.

Before the legal turmoil, McAfee was a pioneer in the cybersecurity industry. He was McAfee Corp. in Santa Clara, California in 1987. Founded and led the company, which dominated the antivirus protection market for personal computers. During that time, half of the Fortune 100 companies were using his software. McAfee resigned in 1994. Decades later, he told the South China Morning Post that running a company is no longer fun as it has grown into a giant company with thousands of employees.

Intel Corp. acquired the company in 2010 and has since renamed all McAfee products as Intel Security. After his name was removed, McAfee told the BBC, “I’m forever grateful to Intel for freeing me from this terrible relationship with the worst software on the planet.”

McAfee moved to Belize in 2008 after a series of failed investments in real estate, real estate and fixed income reduced its $ 100 million wealth to $ 4 million. There he experienced one of the biggest disputes with authorities in 2012 after murdering his neighbor, a 52-year-old contractor from Florida, Gregory Faull. McAfee’s house on Ambergris Caye was searched after Fall was shot dead, and police said he wanted to ask him as part of an investigation into the murder case.

He then sought asylum in Guatemala in 2012, claiming he had not escaped from Belize authorities. He turned to social media and public interviews, regained his reputation, sent updates to Wired Magazine, allowed two Vice Magazine reporters to accompany him, and posted an article on his website. He talked about burying himself in the sand with a cardboard box and escaping the police by changing his appearance.

McAfee was expelled from Guatemala and arrived in Miami in December 2012. “I’m completely happy with the decision,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg News on the day of departure, saying that McAfee, then 67, had been banished from Belize. He apologized to the then president of Guatemala for putting him in a “slippery position.” He was later ordered by a Florida judge to pay more than $ 25 million for Fall’s property.

In 2016, McAfee announced its candidacy as presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party and campaigned on a privacy-focused platform that included asking the government to develop a cybersecurity defense strategy. The party’s nomination was won by former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.

By 2017, McAfee was on the Bitcoin tide as CEO of MGT Capital Investments. He promised to turn his former video game business into a profitable cybersecurity company by strengthening his Bitcoin mining business. He resigned later that year and became CEO of the cryptocurrency company Luxcore.

Some of his cryptocurrency ventures included charging over $ 105,000 per tweet to facilitate the first coin offering. McAfee later told Twitter followers that he was forced to “darken” on social media after receiving an unspecified “threat” from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

McAfee from 2014 to 2018 Failed to submit According to a federal indictment, a US tax return. After fleeing law enforcement, he was arrested and detained in Spain last October. From prison, McAfee was able to continue to promote cryptocurrencies using Twitter, but was also able to share his experience. In April, he tweeted. “This was the most difficult time in my life.” At that point he was in a Catalan prison for six months.

In November 2019, McAfee used Twitter to showcase the latest tattoos on the right biceps. I read “$ WHACKD”. In a related tweet, he wrote: I’m going to commit suicide. ” Just in case, I got a tattoo today. If I committed suicide, I didn’t. I was banged. Check your right arm. “

The Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia reported that McAfee seemed to have committed suicide, citing a statement from the Catalan Ministry of Justice where McAfee was detained.

Doug Clinton, Managing Partner of Loop Ventures, said:

Source: News24