Anti-virus creator John McAfee arrested over tax evasion
John McAfee, an anti-virus software creator charged for fraud in the United States. He is in jail after being arrested at Barcelona airport at the weekend. He was about to board a flight to Istanbul with a British passport according to the police.
A judicial source said McAfee presented himself to a high court judge through a video call. Obviously, the police sent him to jail without bail where he will await the extradition process.
After the arrest, McAfee’s official Instagram account posted a “Free McAfee” message with a photo of him. The person running the account however did not return a message seeking comment.
Prosecutors say he failed to file tax returns for four years. Despite earning millions from consulting work, speaking engagements, crypto-currencies, he failed to file tax returns. The software firm which bears his name does not have any of his income. Mr. McAfee has not publicly commented on the charges. Consequently, he could face up to 30 years in prison.
US Justice Department and SEC:
In a statement, the US Justice Department said Mr. McAfee allegedly evaded tax liability. He was having his income paid into bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchange accounts in the names of nominees. As a result, he failed to file any tax returns from 2014 to 2018, as alleged.
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that it had brought civil charges against Mr. McAfee. The government regulator alleges that Mr. McAfee made over $23m ( 17.7m) by “leveraging his fame”. He recommended seven cryptocurrency offerings between 2017 and 2018, which allegedly turned out to be “essentially worthless”.
The SEC is seeking to impose a fine on him, and discharge him of any “allegedly ill-gotten gains”, with the interest of course. It clearly wants to permanently ban him from serving as an officer or director of any listed company.
