Eccentric antivirus software mogul John McAfee executed an illegal cryptocurrency scheme that raised millions of dollars for him and his team, Manhattan federal prosecutors said on Friday.
In an unsealed indictment in federal court, prosecutors accused McAfee and Jimmy Watson, his crypto “executive consultant”, of running two schemes to steal about $ 13 million from crypto investors.
In the first illicit plot, McAfee and his team bought large amounts of “altcoin” – knowing that he planned to publicize the cryptocurrency using his Twitter account, which has a huge and loyal following, accused prosecutors.
McAfee, the founder of McAfee antivirus software, sold altcoins after his tweets artificially increased the value of cryptocurrencies, earning about $ 2 million from the “pumping and dumping” scheme, according to the prosecution.
In a second ploy, McAfee and his team took money from beginning cryptocurrency issuers to promote events called “initial coin offers”, prosecutors accused.
The illicit group did not disclose that it was being paid to disclose the facts, which is illegal, according to the prosecution. This scheme reportedly earned them another $ 11 million.
McAfee and Watson were charged with seven counts of conspiracy and money laundering.
McAfee is currently being held in Spain, where he was arrested by the US authorities last year for tax evasion.
In August, he infamously lied about his viral claim that he was arrested in Norway for using a dental floss as a face mask, saying it was just a joke.