The creator of the antivirus that bears his name faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of tax evasion.
The software developer, John David McAfee, has been arrested at Barcelona’s El Prat airport and is awaiting extradition to the United States, accused of tax evasion. An indictment was filed today against McAfee for tax evasion and for not voluntarily filing his tax returns, as announced by Chief Deputy Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Department of Justice’s Tax Division and United States Attorney Michael Dunavant of the Western District of Tennessee. The indictment of June 15, 2020 was opened after McAfee’s arrest in Spain, where he is pending extradition.
The arrest of Mcafee, who was in search and capture by the United States, took place last Saturday, October 3, when he and two other people were preparing to catch a flight to Istanbul, reports Efe. The sources consulted have explained that in the police filter for international departures, the developer, who was carrying a United Kingdom passport, was identified around 9:00 a.m. Once the police bases were consulted, on his identity he had a signal from Interpol of search and capture for immediate extradition to the United States for a crime of fraud.
At that time he was arrested and last Sunday he was made available to the central investigating court number 5 of the National High Court through the El Prat de Llobregat guard court by videoconference.
After taking a statement from him, the magistrate ordered his admission to preventive detention in the Brians prison.
According to the indictment, John McAfee earned millions of dollars in income from promoting cryptocurrencies, consulting jobs, talks, and selling the rights to his life story for a documentary, according to the US Department of Justice. Between 2014 and 2018, McAfee allegedly did not file tax returns, despite receiving considerable income from these businesses. The indictment does not allege that during these years McAfee received any income or had any connection with the antivirus company that bears his name.
According to the indictment, McAfee allegedly evaded his tax liability by directing his income to bank accounts and encrypted exchange accounts in the name of third parties. The indictment further alleges that McAfee attempted to evade the IRS by concealing assets, including real estate, a vehicle, and a yacht, in the name of others.
If he is convicted, McAfee faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count of tax evasion and a maximum sentence of one year in prison for each count of voluntarily not filing a tax return. McAfee also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
An indictment is limited to alleging that crimes have been committed. The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
