New Delhi: John McAfee, a 75-year-old anti-virus pioneer, was found dead from an apparent suicide in his cell in Spain. The news came hours after the country’s highest court approved his extradition to the United States, where he is needed on tax-related charges.
Days before McAfee’s apparent suicide, he shared tweets about the poor conditions in prison. His tweet and a 2019 tattoo are now under investigation.
In 2019, he got ‘$WHACKD’ tattooed on his right arm and in a tweet he accused US officials of targeting him. He said that if he was ever found dead by suicide, he did not say, “I was killed”.
Receiving subtle messages from US officials, in fact: “We’re coming for you McAfee! We’re going to kill ourselves”. I got a tattoo done in today’s case. If I committed suicide, I didn’t. I was shocked. Check out my right hand.$WHACKD Available only on https://t.co/HdSEYi9krqđ pic.twitter.com/rJ0Vi2Hpjj
â John McAfee (@officialmcafee) November 30, 2019
In another tweet, he compared himself to Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in a prison cell from an apparent suicide.
I am satisfied here. I have friends.
The food is good. All are well.
Know that if I hang myself, a la Epstein, it will be no fault of mine.
â John McAfee (@officialmcafee) October 15, 2020
However, McAfee’s lawyer told Reuters on Wednesday evening that McAfee apparently hanged himself in his prison cell. According to a report in the Guardian, conspiracy theorists edited her Wikipedia page to reveal that she had been murdered.
McAfee’s allegations
The tech-mogul was arrested at Barcelona’s international airport as he was about to board a plane bound for Istanbul, just a day after authorities announced a US indictment stemming from alleged tax offenses. Tennessee prosecutors accused McAfee of tax evasion after he did consulting work, had speaking engagements, and in reporting proceeds from promoting cryptocurrency while selling the rights to his life story for a documentary. failed. McAfee repeatedly stated that he did not pay taxes for ideological reasons.
On Wednesday, the Spanish court approved to extradite him to the US. According to the Guardian, a 16-page decision read, “The court agrees to approve the extradition of John David McAfee for offenses referred to by US judicial authorities.” is. in tax offense prosecutions for the years 2016 to 2018.”
He sold his antivirus company McAfee to Intel in 2011 for $7.7 billion.
a problematic figure
He founded the software company McAfee Associates in 1987 and ran it until 1994 after resigning from the company. McAfee has been engaging in increasingly erratic behavior, most recently claiming to be making $2,000 a day as a self-proclaimed cryptocurrency guru.
McAfee founded Tribal Voice, which developed PowWow, one of the first instant messaging programs. In 2000, he invested in and joined the board of directors of Zone Labs, makers of firewall software, before being acquired by Check Point Software in 2003. In February 2010, McAfee started the company QuorumEx, headquartered in Belize, with the aim of producing herbal. Antibiotics that inhibit quorum sensing in bacteria.
In 2009, his personal finances began to decline from a peak of $100 million in 2007-2008. In 2019, he made a YouTube video titled ‘How to Uninstall McAfee Antivirus’, which garnered over 10 million views, in the video he criticized the antivirus for smelling a white powdery substance. A company spokesperson replied that the video was “ridiculous.”
McAfee was also a political activist. He unsuccessfully sought the Libertarian Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 2016 and 2020. He is also known for advocating for the decriminalization of cannabis, an end to the War on Drugs, non-interference in foreign policy, a free market economy. Does not redistribute wealth, and perpetuates free trade.
In 2012, he cited conspiracy theories around an unsolved murder of a neighbor in Belize, saying he was probably the target of a murder suspect.
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