John McAfee, embattled software developer, observed useless in jail cell

John McAfee, founder of McAfee Antivirus, was discovered lifeless in his mobile in a Spanish jail, his law firm confirmed to ABC News. The Spanish Interior Ministry also confirmed the demise.

McAfee, 75, who was a domestic name in computer protection program, confronted securities fraud charges and extradition to the U.S. at the time of his death.

Federal prosecutors in New York, where by McAfee had been billed with securities fraud, declined ABC News’ ask for for remark soon right after the news broke.

In between November 2017 and February 2018, McAfee leveraged his fame as a computer system programmer to make much more than $23 million by recommending a selection of “preliminary coin choices” to his Twitter followers, federal prosecutors said.

The challenge, in accordance to prosecutors, was that McAfee unsuccessful to disclose he was a paid pitchman and endorsing an investment decision solution without disclosing you happen to be being paid to do so is illegal.

McAfee was arrested in Spain previous yr for tax evasion. The Associated Press claimed Wednesday that a Spanish courtroom had dominated in favor of his extradition to the U.S. just several hours before he was identified dead.

McAfee rose to fame for his namesake antivirus application business he began in the 1980s and bought in the mid-’90s. In a 2017 interview with ABC News’ Matt Gutman, he statements he wrote the antivirus system “in a day and a fifty percent” and that “4 million men and women ended up utilizing it in a month.”

The tech entrepreneur lived a lavish and eccentric way of life — he constructed 9 homes loaded with expensive artwork and artifacts (together with a dinosaur cranium), and bought a fleet of planes and antique autos at a single position prior to he was strike difficult by the Terrific Economic downturn and liquidated most of his assets, per his 2017 ABC News interview.

At one particular stage he was a “individual of desire” in a Belize murder circumstance, and when he was established to be deported to Belize he statements he faked a coronary heart assault. He was by no means arrested or billed in link with the death, and has denied any involvement.

McAfee also ran to turn into the Libertarian Get together candidate for president in 2016.

He is survived by his wife, Janice McAfee. In his remaining tweet, John McAfee retweeted a Father’s Working day information posted by his wife to his 1 million followers.

“Although you are spending the day in jail know that you are liked and appreciated,” his wife’s submit said.

ABC News’ Aicha El Hammar Castano, Aaron Katersky and Kirit Radia contributed to this report.