John McAfee faces up to 100 years in prison on fraud and money laundering charges

The entrepreneur John McAfee faces seven counts of fraud and money laundering. The case will be heard in the Southern District of New York.

John David McAfee and executive adviser of his cryptocurrency team indicted in Manhattan federal court for fraud and money laundering conspiracy crimes https://t.co/A96USZb6pC

— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) March 5, 2021

Another defendant in the case will be the executive adviser to the entrepreneur’s cryptocurrency team, Jimmy Gale Watson Jr., who was taken into custody the day before. McAfee was arrested in Spain in October 2020; he awaits extradition to the United States.

The first charge concerns pump-and-dump schemes for altcoins on Twitter. McAfee posted tweets promoting certain coins, driving their prices higher. Prosecutors say that members of his team exploited this, locking in profits.

The second count concerns undisclosed compensation for participation in promoting ICO.

 \u201cMcAfee and Watson earned almost $2 million by using social media to carry out pump-and-dump schemes. They also used the same platform to promote the sale of tokens, without disclosing information about the compensation they received from ICO organizers. This brought them another $11 million,\u201d according to prosecutors.

The proceeds were laundered through banking transactions with the involvement of an unnamed member of McAfee’s team.

The maximum penalty for the seven counts could reach 100 years in prison. McAfee and the executive adviser to the cryptocurrency team could also be fined.

In the summer of 2018, the entrepreneur vowed to fight the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) \u201cto his last breath.\u201d He called the regulator’s decision at the time to classify ICO tokens as securities \u201cabsurd\u201d.

The next day after these statements, he said he had ceased working with ICOs and would not recommend them due to the SEC’s warning.

In October 2020, McAfee said he was satisfied with how his days in prison were progressing.

For more on the entrepreneur’s unusual life and controversial reputation, read in a special feature.

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