John McAfee, the eccentric tech mogul who made his fortune developing anti-virus software, was found dead in a prison cell near Barcelona on Wednesday, just hours after the Spanish national court ruled he was charged with tax evasion United States should be extradited. 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 that a 75-year-old US citizen awaiting extradition could not be resuscitated.
McAfee was arrested in Spain last October on charges of failing to pay millions in Tennessee income taxes from 2014 to 2018. He was also charged by Manhattan federal investigators for his involvement in a “pump-and-dump” cryptocurrency system.
Earlier Wednesday, the Spanish court ruled that McAfee would be extradited after months of alleging that the charges against him were politically motivated and intended to ensure he never leaves prison.
The tax evasion charge was not the first time McAfee has been linked to a criminal investigation. In 2012, McAfee was wanted in Belize for the murder of his neighbor.
McAfee had tweeted out of jail for months.
McAfee, who sold his software company in the 1990s, claimed to have fathered 47 children in his lifetime.
“Father of many, loved by few,” wrote his wife Janice in a Father’s Day letter posted on Twitter on Sunday.
In the letter, she claimed the US government was “determined to let John die in prison to make an example of speaking out against corruption in its government agencies.”
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