Who was John McAfee? 6 keys to the turbulent life of the antivirus software mogul

(CNN Spanish) – United States, Belize, Guatemala, Spain; arrests, tax evasion, presidential candidacy, attempted deportation, awaiting extradition and, this Wednesday, his death in a Spanish prison.

The life of John McAfee, the controversial founder of the eponymous software, with which he was no longer affiliated, has included multiple countries, court indictments and countless turmoil.

Here are some keys about the strange saga of the tycoon who died this Wednesday at the age of 75.

He was found dead in a prison near Barcelona

John McAfee was found dead in his cell in a prison near Barcelona on Wednesday around 1pm ET. A spokeswoman for the High Court of Catalonia told CNN that there was a forensic doctor at the scene and that the cause of death is being investigated.

Tycoon He was awaiting extradition in a Spanish prison after being charged with tax evasion in the United States last year.

According to a spokesperson for the National Court told CNN, on Wednesday morning, a three-judge panel of the Spanish National Court in Madrid had ruled that McAfee could be extradited to the United States to face the charges against which he they accused him.

He had been arrested in October in Spain after being indicted in the US for evading taxes for 4 years, according to court documents. This, despite making millions of dollars between 2014 and 2018 in cryptocurrencies, consulting, talks and the sale of the rights to his life story for a documentary.

He had been indicted for ‘pumping and dumping’ cryptocurrencies

In March of this year, the DThe Department of Justice had charged him with conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. for participating in a scheme in which he made more than $ 13 million by falsely promoting cryptocurrencies to unwitting investors.

According to the indictment, McAfee and a partner allegedly exploited Twitter and “the enthusiasm among investors in the emerging cryptocurrency market to make millions through lies and deception.”

The ‘pump and discharge’ plan it means that they promoted cryptocurrencies, to inflate the price and then sell.

At that time it was known that, if convicted of all charges, he could have faced up to 100 years in prison and financial penalties.

He fled Belize because they tried to question him about the death of his neighbor …

In 2012, McAfee fled his home on the Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye, Belize, because local police tried to question him about the death of his neighbor.

McAfee denied involvement in the death and claimed that he had fled because he feared for his life.

According to the Belizean authorities, they only wanted to talk to McAfee about the November 11 shooting murder of American businessman Gregory Faull, who was found dead in his home near San Pedro, on the Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye.

… then he requested political asylum in Guatemala …

After fleeing Belize, the magnate went to Guatemala, from where he declared “Politically persecuted” and applied for asylum.

At the end of 2012, Guatemala denied his asylum request and said it would deport him to Belize.

… and even claimed to have faked a heart attack while in custody

According reported by CNN in 2012, the mogul “said he faked a heart attack while in detention in Guatemala to buy time for his lawyer to present a series of appeals that ultimately prevented his deportation to Belize and accelerated the government’s decision to send him back to the United States.”

Following the escape and arrest in Central America, McAfee arrived in Miami.

Then he ran for president of the United States.

Then he lived in Montreal, Canada, where he worked on a documentary about his life. And, in 2016, McAfee ran for president of the United States.

He ran as a libertarian, stating that 2016 would be “the year of the third match.

In a interview with CNN Money in 2015, said his slogan was: “Privacy, freedom and technology.”

With information from Clare Duffy, Eli Watkins, Laurie Segall, Lateef Mungin, Fernando del Rincón, and John Zarrella.