John McAfee, Anti-Virus Software Magnate, Found Dead In Prison

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Antivirus software tycoon John McAfee was found dead in a Spanish jail cell on Wednesday (June 23).

Spanish newspaper El Mundo, which cited a statement from Spain's Departmento de justicia, confirming McAfee's death, reports the software entrepreneur died by suicide at the age of 75, according to TheDailyBeast.com.

Reports of McAfee's death came hours after the Spanish High Court authorized the software tycoon to be extradited to the United States, where he faced tax evasion charges, Reuters.com reports.

McAfee was arrested at the Barcelona airport in October 2020 and said accusations against him were politically motivated while appearing at an extradition hearing earlier this month.

McAfee was reported to be allowed to appeal the court's extradition authorization prior to his death on Wednesday.

The software magnate faced charges filed by the Internal Revenue Service that were reportedly linked to the British-American entrepreneur's failed bid to run as a Libertarian Party candidate in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, his second attempt to run for president.

In October 2020, McAfee was indicted on tax evasion and willful failure to file tax returns in federal court in Memphis after his arrest in Spain, as the software tycoon claimed to live in Lexington, Tennessee in February 2020, LocalMemphis.com reports.

McAfee founded the software company McAfee Associates in 1987 and ran it until his resignation in 1994. The 75-year-old achieved early success by creating the company's first commercial antivirus software, which led to the business -- which still bears his name -- now producing a range of enterprise security software.

This is a developing story and will be updated.


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