The antivirus software founder was found hanging in a jail cell in Barcelona hours after his extradition to the United States on tax evasion charges had been approved.
- Jun 24, 2021
AceShowbiz - Software mogul John McAfee has passed away at 75 years old. The British-American computer programmer, who was best known for founding the company behind McAfee Antivirus, was found dead in a Spanish jail on Wednesday, June 23.
His death is believed to have been caused by suicide as his lawyer Javier Villalba confirmed McAfee was found hanging in a prison cell in Barcelona. The lawyer claims his nine months in prison brought his client to despair.
McAfee's other lawyer, Nishay Sanan, confirmed his death in a statement. "I am saddened to hear of the events and my prayers go out to his wife Janice," it read. "John was and will always be remembered as a fighter. He tried to love this country but the U.S. Government made his existence impossible. They tried to erase him but they failed."
McAfee was detained on October 3 at the Barcelona airport as he was about to board a flight to Istanbul with a British passport, a Spanish police source said at the time. He was found dead just hours after Spain's high court approved his extradition to the United States, where he will face tax evasion charges.
Villalba says McAfee still had opportunities to appeal his conviction but could not stand more time in jail. "This is the result of a cruel system that had no reason to keep this man in jail for so long," he claims.
During a court hearing last month, McAfee said that given his age, he would spend the rest of his life in jail if convicted in the United States. "I am hoping that the Spanish court will see the injustice of this," he said, adding that "the United States wants to use me as an example."
McAfee was indicted in Tennessee on tax evasion charges and was charged in a cryptocurrency fraud case in New York. In 2019, he had bragged about not paying U.S. income taxes for eight years for ideological reasons. That year, he left the United States to avoid trial, largely living on a megayacht with his wife, four large dogs, two security guards and seven staff.
U.S. prosecutors will likely ask the judge overseeing the tax evasion case to dismiss charges because of McAfee's death.
