John McAfee, founder of the antivirus firm that bears his
name, and Jimmy Watson face charges of conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering
in connection with schemes to trick cryptocurrency investors, according to an
indictment unsealed by the US Department of Justice.
"McAfee and Watson exploited a widely used social media
platform and enthusiasm among investors in the emerging cryptocurrency market
to make millions through lies and deception," US attorney Audrey Strauss
said in a release.
McAfee, Watson, and other members of their
"cryptocurrency team" allegedly "raked in more than $13 million
from investors they victimized with their fraudulent schemes," according
to Strauss.
Pump-and-dump schemes typically involve over-hyping the
value of stocks or, in this case cryptocurrency, by holders so that they can be
sold at artificially high prices.
"McAfee and Watson used social media to perpetrate an
age-old pump-and-dump scheme," FBI assistant director William Sweeney
said.
"When engaging in illegal activity, simply finding new
ways to carry out old tricks won't produce different results."
McAfee and Watson also used Twitter to promote digital
tokens on behalf of initial coin offerings without disclosing they were being
paid for their efforts by the startups, according to the indictment.
McAfee, 75, is in custody in Spain pending a decision on his
extradition to the United States where he is wanted for tax evasion.
He has been held at a prison near Barcelona since he was
arrested in the Spanish city in October just as he was about to board a flight
to Istanbul.
The arrest followed his indictment in June in the United
States for tax evasion and willful failure to file tax returns between 2014 and
2018, despite earning millions from consulting work, cryptocurrencies and
selling the rights to his life story.
Since making a fortune with his eponymous antivirus software
in the 1980s, McAfee has become a self-styled cryptocurrency guru.
He has one million followers on Twitter, where he describes
himself as a "lover of women, adventure and mystery."
McAfee made headlines after he moved to Belize and his
neighbor in the Central American country was mysteriously murdered in 2012, a
crime that remains unsolved.
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