British born American John McAfee, founder of McAfee Antivirus software, a fugitive at the time of his death was found dead in his jail cell near Barcelona, Spain. The death is being labelled as suicide.
McAfee was wanted in the US for multiple legal cases and was fighting his extradition to the US claiming if extradited, he would be imprisoned for life and would die in prison.
Only hours before his death, a Spanish court had given approval to his extradition. But that decision was open to appeal and the extradition was a long way away which need the approval of the Spanish cabinet.
Among other things, McAfee faced tax charges in the US punishable by decades in prison.
McAfee was also a cryptocurrency promoter, tax opponent, US presidential candidate who publicly embraced drugs, guns and sex.
McAfee’s legal woes spanned far and wide – from Tennessee to Central America to the Caribbean.
McAfee’s body was discovered by the prison security personnel who tried to revive him, but the jail’s medical team finally certified his death.
McAfee 75, who had been presidential candidate in the US had argued in an extradition case hearing earlier this month that the charges against him by prosecutors in Tennessee were politically motivated.
McAfee was arrested at Barcelona’s international airport in October 2020 and had been in jail ever since then awaiting the outcome of extradition proceedings.
His Chicago based lawyer in the US says he (John McAfee) “will always be remembered as a fighter.”
John McAfee was born in England’s Gloucestershire in 1945 as John David McAfee and moved to Virginia in the US as a child and grew up with his father in a troubled relationship.
When the first major computer virus, called “Brain,” hit in 1986, John sensed and opportunity and joined hands with a programmer he knew to write the VirusScan program.
He founded his eponymous company in 1987. It is also reported that he developed and ran BBS, a bulletin board system that served as a precursor to the World Wide Web.
California chipmaker Intel bought McAfee’s company in 2011 for $7.68 billion.