Computer anti-virus creator John McAfee arrested in Spain on US tax evasion charges

John David McAfee, creator of the eponymous anti-virus software has been indicted on charges of tax evasion by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). 

He has been arrested in Spain and is awaiting extradition.

Mcafee, who has been arrested over 22 times in past ten years is an English-American computer programmer and businessman. He founded the software company McAfee Associates in 1987 and ran it until 1994, when he resigned from the company. McAfee Associates achieved early success as the creators of McAfee, the first commercial antivirus software, and the business now produces a range of enterprise security software.

The US Justice Department announced the charges shortly after the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed it had brought civil charges against McAfee, alleging that he made over $23.1 million in undisclosed compensation from recommending seven cryptocurrency offerings on Twitter that were materially false and misleading.

The indictment, filed under seal in June, was unsealed following his arrest in Spain where the United States is seeking to extradite him.

Mcafee posted this video in August this year and said: “Now that Ghislaine has been arrested, everyone is asking me how to avoid being collected by the authorities that might be pursuing you. Simple really — a four-step process.”

“McAfee leveraged his fame to make more than $23.1 million in undisclosed compensation” by recommending at least seven initial coin offerings or ICOs to his Twitter followers, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said.

McAfee’s recommendations were “materially false and misleading,” in that he tried to sell “virtually worthless” cryptocurrency tokens by encouraging investors to buy the securities without disclosing his own holdings, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged.

(With inputs from Reuters)