Eccentric antivirus software mogul John McAfee carried out an illegal ‘pump and dump’ cryptocurrency scheme that raised millions of dollars for him and his staffers, Manhattan federal prosecutors said Friday.
In a charge that has not been sealed by federal court, prosecutors have indicted McAfee and Jimmy Watson, his cryptocurrency “executive adviser,” for executing two plans to pay crypto investors for approximately $ 13 million.
In the first illegal plot, McAfee and his team bought large amounts of “altcoin” – knowing he planned to disclose the cryptocurrency with his Twitter account, which has a huge and loyal following, prosecutors said.
McAfee, the founder of McAfee antivirus software, then sold the altcoins after his tweets artificially increased the value of the cryptocurrencies and made about $ 2 million from the ‘pump and dump’ plan, according to the indictment.
In a second ruse, McAfee and his team took money from start-up cryptocurrency publishers to promote events called “ initial coin offers, ” prosecutors charged.
The illegal group did not disclose that they were paid to disclose the events, which the charges say are illegal. That plan reportedly earned them an additional $ 11 million.
McAfee and Watson were charged with conspiracy and money laundering charges on seven charges.
McAfee is currently detained in Spain, where he was arrested by US authorities last year for tax evasion.
In August, he infamously lied about his viral claim that he was arrested in Norway for wearing a thong as a face mask, saying it was just a joke.