Antivirus pioneer Mcafee arrested over tax evasion

JOHN MCAFEE, the antivirus software creator, was arrested in Spain on Monday charged with evading tax and fraudulently touting cryptocurrency online, and faces extradition to the US.

The computer programmer, 75, was charged by the US Department in June but the indictment was only unsealed after his arrest.

It claims that despite allegedly earning millions in income from promoting cryptocurrency, consulting, speaking at events and selling his life rights to a media company, Mr Mcafee failed to file tax returns between 2014 and 2018.

The indictment also alleges Mr MCAfee attempted to evade the taxman by concealing homes, a car and a yacht.

The Securities and Exchange Commission simultaneously charged Mr Mcafee with promoting investments in initial coin offerings (ICOS) to his Twitter followers without disclosing that he was paid to do so.

According to the SEC complaint, he promoted seven unnamed ICOS on Twitter making more than $23 million (£18 million) in cryptocurrency from the scheme. Mr Mcafee allegedly denied receiving any compensation from the company. Investors were left holding digital assets that are now essentially worthless, it added.

The SEC is also pursuing charges against Jimmy Watson Junior, his bodyguard, on charges he aided and abetted the sale of the digital currencies. Mr Mcafee and Mr Watson also allegedly engaged in a separate scheme to profit from a digital asset security.

Kristina Littman, Cyber Unit chief, said: “Mcafee, assisted by Watson, allegedly leveraged his fame to deceptively tout numerous digital asset securities to his followers without informing investors of his role as a paid promoter.”

The SEC is looking for damages as well as disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, with interest. If convicted, Mr Mcafee faces 30 years in prison.

Mr Mcafee’s wife, Janice, said: “Now more than ever he needs all of our support in this battle against injustice.”