Eccentric antivirus software mogul John McAfee ran an illegal “pump-and-dump” cryptocurrency scheme that raised millions of dollars for him and his staff, Manhattan federal prosecutors said Friday.
In a lawsuit overturned in federal court, prosecutors accused McAfee and Jimmy Watson, his “executive adviser” for cryptocurrencies, of running two schemes for about $ 13 million for cryptocurrencies.
In the first illegal conspiracy, McAfee and his team bought large quantities of ‘altcoin’ – knowing that he was planning to publish the cryptocurrency using his Twitter account, which has a huge and loyal following, charged prosecutors.
McAfee, the founder of McAfee’s antivirus software, then sold the altcoins after his tweets artificially increased the value of the cryptocoins, and reportedly earned about $ 2 million from the “pump and dump” scheme.
In a second break, McAfee and his team took money from cryptocurrency issuers to name events called “initial currency offerings,” prosecutors said.
According to the indictment, the illegal group did not disclose that they were being paid to disclose the events, which is illegal. The scheme allegedly earns 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 U.S. authorities last year for tax evasion.
In August, he remained notorious for lying about his viral allegation that he was bowing in Norway because he wore a belt as a face mask and said it was just a prank.