John McAfee Dies in Spanish Prison Cell After Extradition Order
On the day a Spanish court’s ruling in favor of his extradition was made public, John McAfee died in a prison cell outside Barcelona. The antivirus pioneer turned fugitive was 75 years old.
McAfee had been detained in Spain since last fall, when he was arrested on allegations of tax evasion. The US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission added to those charges in March, indicting McAfee and an associate on multiple counts related to two cryptocurrency schemes that had allegedly spanned years. He had faced up to decades in prison if convicted of all charges.
Security guards at the Brians 2 penitentiary found McAfee dead in his cell on Wednesday; in a statement provided to the Associated Press, the Catalan government indicated that McAfee died by suicide. A request for comment to the Catalan government was not returned by press time.
“Confirmation has come from our legal team in Spain that John was found dead in his jail cell. I am saddened to hear of the events, and my prayers go out to his wife, Janice,” said McAfee’s lawyer, Nishay K. Sanan, in a statement. “He tried to love this country, but the US Government made his existence impossible. They tried to erase him but they failed.”
