SEC files suit against John McAfee; he has been arrested

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed suit against entrepreneur John McAfee for promoting ICO projects on Twitter, and the U.S. Department of Justice has brought charges of tax evasion. McAfee has already been arrested in Spain, and faces extradition.

SEC charges John McAfee with fraudulently touting ICOs https://t.co/2oUnozOZwS

— SEC_News (@SEC_News) October 5, 2020

The SEC contends that McAfee earned more than $23.1 million from promotions of at least seven token sales, in which “digital securities” were sold. In the plaintiff’s view, McAfee’s claims misled investors.

what a prince pic.twitter.com/xO4ZqW4RaT

— Palley (@stephendpalley) October 5, 2020

The entrepreneur, the SEC notes, did not publicly disclose that he was being compensated by issuers, lied about the extent of his involvement in the projects, and engaged in unscrupulous trading by selling assets after heavy promotion.

The agency also drew attention to McAfee’s controversial pledge involving his genitalia and the price of Bitcoin.

Source: CourtListener.

The second defendant in the case is Jimmy Gael Watson Jr., McAfee’s bodyguard.

The SEC seeks to have McAfee return the ill-gotten gains, imposes penalties, and a ban on participating in the sale of digital securities. The case will be heard in the Southern District of New York.

For each of the five counts of evasion listed in the Justice Department indictment, he faces up to five years in prison.

John McAfee Indicted for Tax Evasion — Allegedly Hid Cryptocurrency, a Yacht, Real Estate and Other Properties in Nominee Names to Evade Taxeshttps://t.co/6hcFNmLhBW

— Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) October 5, 2020

In June 2018, the entrepreneur pledged not to promote ICOs because of “SEC threats.”

John McAfee: I will no longer promote ICOs

Last week the U.S. Department of Justice charged the BitMEX founders with violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. One of them, Samuel Reed, has already been arrested.

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