Anti-virus software entrepreneur John McAfee has been arrested in Spain and faces extradition to the US where he has been charged with tax evasion.
The DOJ has levied a number of counts of tax evasion against McAfee, saying that he “willfully attempted to evade” payment of income taxes owed to the federal government.
According to the indictment by the DOJ, John McAfee earned millions in income from promoting cryptocurrencies, consulting work, speaking engagements, and selling the rights to his life story for a documentary.
From 2014 to 2018, McAfee allegedly failed to file tax returns, despite receiving considerable income from these sources.
According to the indictment, McAfee allegedly evaded his tax liability by directing his income to be paid into bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchange accounts in the names of nominees.
The indictment further alleges McAfee attempted to evade the IRS by concealing assets, including real property, a vehicle, and a yacht, in the names of others.
If convicted, McAfee faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on each count of tax evasion and a maximum sentence of one year in prison on each count of willful failure to file a tax return.
McAfee also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
The charges were announced shortly after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that it had brought civil charges against Mr McAfee.
The SEC has accused McAfee of being paid more than $23.1 million worth of cryptocurrency assets for promoting a number of ICO token sales without disclosing that he was being paid to do so.
McAfee came to prominence in the 1980s when he founded a company that released the first commercial anti-virus software – McAfee VirusScan – and helped spark a multi-billion dollar industry.
In 2012, Mr McAfee made headlines after Belize police began investigating the death of his neighbour, Florida businessman Gregory Faull, and named Mr McAfee as a “person of interest”.
Mr McAfee left the country after the death, saying he feared for his own safety, but said he had “no connection whatsoever” with the killing.
