NEW YORK: Antivirus software entrepreneur John McAfee was indicted on fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges alleging that he and cohorts made over $13 million by fooling investors zealous over the emerging cryptocurrency market, authorities said Friday.
McAfee, 75, was charged in a newly unsealed indictment in Manhattan federal court along with Jimmy Gale Watson Jr., who served as an executive adviser on what prosecutors described as McAfee’s “so-called cryptocurrency team.”
Prosecutors said Watson, 40, was arrested Thursday night in Texas and would make an initial appearance Friday before a federal magistrate judge in Dallas. McAfee, authorities said, is detained in Spain on separate criminal charges filed by the US Justice Department’s tax division.
Attorney Arnold Spencer, representing Watson, said his client is a decorated former Navy Seal.
“He fought for other people’s rights and liberties, and he is entitled to and looks forward to his day in court to exercise some of those very rights,” he said in an email.
“Criminal indictments are blunt instruments, not precise scalpels,” Spencer added. “This is not the right place to debate whether cutting edge technologies like cryptocurrencies are securities, commodities, or something else.”
It was not immediately clear who might represent McAfee. There was still no lawyer listed for him in the Memphis, Tennessee, federal court where tax charges were lodged against him in October.
“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 statement describing crimes in 2017 and 2018.
“The defendants allegedly used McAfee’s Twitter account to publish messages to hundreds of thousands of his Twitter followers touting various cryptocurrencies through false and misleading statements to conceal their true, self-interested motives,” she added.
In October, McAfee was charged in Tennessee with evading taxes after failing to report income made from promoting cryptocurrencies while he did consulting work, made speaking engagements and sold the rights to his life story for a documentary.
McAfee developed early Internet security software and has been sought by authorities in the US and Belize in the past.
The Tennessee indictment said McAfee failed to file tax returns from 2014 to 2018, despite receiving “considerable income” from several sources.
In July 2019, McAfee was released from detention in the Dominican Republic after he and five others were suspected of traveling on a yacht carrying high-caliber weapons, ammunition and military-style gear, officials on the Caribbean island said at the time.
Antivirus software creator charged with cheating investors
https://arab.news/mbz58
Antivirus software creator charged with cheating investors
- Authorities say that McAfee and cohorts fooled investors through social media to make over $13 million
- McAfee and his team are accused of capitalizing on zeal over the emerging cryptocurrency market as they lied to investors
Silver crosses $77 mark while gold, platinum stretch record highs
- Spot silver touched an all-time high of $77.40 earlier today, marking a 167% year-to-date surge driven by supply deficits
- Spot platinum rose 9.8% to $2,437.72 per ounce, while palladium surged 14 percent to $1,927.81, its highest level in over 3 years
Silver breached the $77 mark for the first time on Friday, while gold and platinum hit record highs, buoyed by expectations of US Federal Reserve rate cuts and geopolitical tensions that fueled safe-haven demand.
Spot silver jumped 7.5% to $77.30 per ounce, as of 1:53 p.m. ET (1853 GMT), after touching an all-time high of $77.40 earlier today, marking a 167% year-to-date surge driven by supply deficits, its designation as a US critical mineral, and strong investment inflows.
Spot gold was up 1.2% at $4,531.41 per ounce, after hitting a record $4,549.71 earlier. US gold futures for February delivery settled 1.1% higher at $4,552.70.
“Expectations for further Fed easing in 2026, a weak dollar and heightened geopolitical tensions are driving volatility in thin markets. While there is some risk of profit-taking before the year-end, the trend remains strong,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.
Markets are anticipating two rate cuts in 2026, with the first likely around mid-year amid speculation that US President Donald Trump could name a dovish Fed chair, reinforcing expectations for a more accommodative monetary stance.
The US dollar index was on track for a weekly decline, enhancing the appeal of dollar-priced gold for overseas buyers.
On the geopolitical front, the US carried out airstrikes against Daesh militants in northwest Nigeria, Trump said on Thursday.
“$80 in silver is within reach by year-end. For gold, the next objective is $4,686.61, with $5,000 likely in the first half of next year,” Grant added.
Gold remains poised for its strongest annual gain since 1979, underpinned by Fed policy easing, central bank purchases, ETF inflows, and ongoing de-dollarization trends.
On the physical demand side, gold discounts in India widened to their highest in more than six months this week as a relentless price rally curbed retail buying, while discounts in China narrowed sharply from last week’s five-year highs.
Elsewhere, spot platinum rose 9.8% to $2,437.72 per ounce, having earlier hit a record high of $2,454.12 while palladium surged 14% to $1,927.81, its highest level in more than three years.
All precious metals logged weekly gains, with platinum recording its strongest weekly rise on record.
