Antivirus creator John McAfee has been found dead in a Spanish prison cell in an apparent suicide Wednesday, June 23. The tech tycoon earlier said that if "I suicide myself, I didn't. I was whackd."

Authorities said the creator of McAfee antivirus software was found dead in his jail cell hours after a Spanish court approved his extradition to the U.S. to face tax charges punishable by decades in prison. 

John McAfee has been arrested by Spanish authorities after the U.S. Department of Justice requested his arrest for alleged tax evasion, Breitbart News reported.

Local reports said that prison officials have found the 75-year-old tech tycoon hanging in his cell in Brians 2 penitentiary near Barcelona.

The medical personnel in prison gave him medical attention but were unable to save his life. McAfee's body is still pending an autopsy, El Pais reported.

Javier Villalba, McAfee's lawyer, said the antivirus pioneer's death was due to suicide as his nine months in prison brought him to despair. Villalba further noted that McAfee's death was also the result of a cruel system that had no reason to keep him in jail for so long.

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John McAfee's Arrest

The antivirus creator was arrested last October 3 at Barcelona-El Prat's international airport. He has been spending his time in jail since then.

John McAfee was also awaiting the outcome of extradition proceedings. His arrest was due to charges in Tennessee for evading taxes after failing to report income from promoting cryptocurrencies while he did consulting work, made speaking engagements, and sold the rights of his life story for a documentary.

The said criminal charges served a prison sentence of up to 20 years, according to Associated Press. On Monday, Spanish National Court ruled in favor of extraditing the tech expert to the U.S., arguing that the charges against him by prosecutors in Tennessee were politically motivated. 

The court had also said that he would spend the rest of his life in prison if returned to the U.S. Nishay Sanan, the Chicago-based lawyer of McAfee, said he will always be remembered as a fighter. 

Sanan noted that John McAfee tried to love his country, but the U.S. government had made his existence possible. The lawyer added that the U.S. government tried to erase McAfee but failed.

John McAfee had repeatedly said that he did not feel safe and that there is a plot against him by the U.S. government. He had been saying these sentiments since 2011.

John McAfee Says U.S. Government is Coming For Him

Breitbart reported that John McAfee earlier tweeted of getting subtle messages from U.S. officials, saying they are coming for him.

In 2019, before he was arrested in Spain, he was apprehended in the Dominican Republic when his ship docked in the country and authorities found weapons, ammunition, and cash on it.

He was also wanted for questioning in connection with the death of Gregory Viant Faull, who was shot to death in early November 2012 on the Belize island.

John McAfee earlier said that he was being persecuted by the Belizean government. Belizean police denied his claims and said that they were simply probing a crime that he might have had information about.

Meanwhile, a McAfee company spokesperson, Jaime Le, said in a statement that although McAfee had founded the company, he has not been associated with the company in any capacity for over 25 years.

California chipmaker Intel had bought the company in 2011 for $7.68 billion. The tech mogul was also known to be friends with Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of sex trafficking.

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WATCH: Antivirus Pioneer John McAfee Found Dead in Spanish Prison - From CNBC Television