Cybersecurity
John McAfee Charged Over Crypto Promotion on Top of Tax Woes
- Cybersecurity entrepreneur allegedly didn’t disclose payments
- McAfee was already charged with failing to file tax returns
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Cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee, in custody in Spain facing U.S. tax charges, was indicted for fraud and money laundering over his use of social media to promote cryptocurrencies, as prosecutors go after illegal activity in the sector.
McAfee and another man, Jimmy Gale Watson Jr., used McAfee’s Twitter account to push a variety of digital currencies without disclosing that they were being paid for the promotion, earning more than $13 million, according to federal prosecutors in New York. Watson, who the U.S. said was the executive director of McAfee’s crypto team, was arrested Thursday night in Texas and pleaded not guilty before a federal magistrate judge on Friday.