John McAfee Was Found Dead In A Spanish Jail Hours After A Court Ruled He'd Be Extradited To The US

The eccentric tech millionaire was arrested last October on charges of tax evasion.

by Amber Jamieson

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Posted on June 23, 2021, 8:35 pm

• TwitterTweet
• FacebookShare
• LinkCopy

{ "id": 127302691 } Adalberto Roque / AFP via Getty Images

US millionaire John McAfee on his yacht anchored at the Marina Hemingway in Havana, on June 26, 2019

{ "id": 127302167 }

John McAfee, the eccentric tech mogul who made his fortune developing antivirus software, was found dead in a jail cell near Barcelona on Wednesday, just hours after Spain’s National Court ruled that he was to be extradited to the United States to face tax evasion charges. He was 75.

The news of his death was first reported by El Pais, who said he died by suicide. An official then confirmed the news of his death to the Associated Press, with a statement from the Catalan government saying a 75-year-old US citizen awaiting extradition could not be resuscitated.

McAfee was arrested last October in Spain, charged with failing to pay millions of dollars in income taxes from 2014 to 2018 in Tennessee. He also faced charges from Manhattan federal investigators over his involvement in a "pump and dump" cryptocurrency scheme.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Spanish court ruled McAfee would face extradition, after months of him claiming that the charges against him were politically motivated and designed to ensure he never left prison again.

The tax evasion charges weren't the first time McAfee had been connected to a criminal investigation. In 2012, McAfee was wanted for questioning in Belize over the murder of his neighbor.

For months, McAfee had been tweeting from prison.

{ "id": "1405918427663982594", "params": { "conversation": "none" } } John McAfee @officialmcafee

In a democracy, power is given not taken. But it is still power. Love, compassion, caring have no use for it. But it is fuel for greed, hostility, jealousy... All power corrupts. Take care which powers you allow a democracy to wield.

04:00 PM - 18 Jun 2021 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @officialmcafee { "id": 127302167 }

McAfee, who sold his software company in the 1990s, claimed to have fathered 47 children during his life.

"Father of many, loved by few," his wife Janice wrote in a letter posted on Twitter on Sunday for Father's Day.

In the letter, she claimed that the US government was "determined to have John die in prison to make an example of him for speaking out against the corruption within their government agencies."

{ "id": "1406568631249551362", "params": { "conversation": "none" } } Janice McAfee @theemrsmcafee

Happy Father's Day @officialmcafee. Though you are spending the day in prison know that you are loved and appreciated. #FreeJohnMcAfee #FreeMcAfee

11:04 AM - 20 Jun 2021 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @theemrsmcafee { "data": {"label-char-limit": 31, "links": [{"article-url": "https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kevincollier/this-is-what-happened-when-john-mcafee-told-his-twitter", "author": "Kevin Collier", "id": "4895304", "published": "1535665290", "title": "This Is What Happened When John McAfee Told His Twitter Followers To Harass The SEC"}, {"article-url": "https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/millennial-outreach-coordinator-anime-shitposting", "author": "Ryan Broderick", "id": "4952069", "published": "1543511852", "title": "A 20-Year-Old Is Helping John McAfee\u0027s 2020 Campaign Team By Teaching Him How To Shitpost About Anime"}], "title": "More on this", "title-char-count": 12}, "formatName": "related_links", "renderKitUrl": "https://www.buzzfeed.com/static-assets/buzz-format-platform/related_links/js/render_kit.ab3b4361d5d5701cdd7b.js", "context": { "bfpId": "1074286", "buzzId": "5992251", "buzzTitle": "John McAfee Was Found Dead In A Spanish Jail Hours After A Court Ruled He\u0027d Be Extradited To The US", "clientEventTracking": {"context_page_id": "5992251", "context_page_type": "buzz", "destination": "buzzfeed_news", "page_edition": "en-us", "source": "web_bf"}, "editorialStatus": "Editorial", "env": "prod", "firstAnswer": "", "subbuzzId": "127302987", "tags": ["--primarykeyword-John McAfee", "John McAfee"], "teaserMode": false } } More on this

• This Is What Happened When John McAfee Told His Twitter Followers To Harass The SEC Kevin Collier · Aug. 30, 2018
• A 20-Year-Old Is Helping John McAfee's 2020 Campaign Team By Teaching Him How To Shitpost About Anime Ryan Broderick · Nov. 29, 2018

• 

  Amber Jamieson is an editor for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.

  Contact Amber Jamieson at [email protected].

  Got a confidential tip? Submit it here