Eccentric entrepreneur and famous crypto enthusiast John McAfee has fled the United States after being indicted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as he prepares his run for U.S. presidency in 2020.
The outspoken crypto fan made the claims in a video posted to Twitter this week, where he confirmed his intention to run his campaign from a boat in international waters. According to the text accompanying the video, McAfee said the U.S. authorities had indicted him in connection with using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Core (BTC) in criminal acts against the state.
McAfee said, “The McAfee 2020 Campaign is, as of this day, in exile. I am being charged with using Crypto Cuttencies [sic] in criminal acts against the U. S. Government. More videos coming shortly. Stay tuned.”
The McAfee 2020 Campaign is, as of this day, in exile. I am being charged with using Crypto Cuttencies in criminal acts against the U. S. Government. More videos coming shortly. Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/C75zcbnKTD
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) January 22, 2019
In the video, McAfee said it had come to his attention that a grand jury had been convened against him and several associates, including his wife, by the IRS.
While denying knowledge of the specific accusations leveled against him, McAfee suggested it could be to do with the fact he hadn’t paid taxes in the past eight years. He said, “I’ve made no secret of it; I’ve not filed returns…The IRS has convened a grand jury in the state of Tennessee to charge myself, my wife…and four of my campaign workers with unspecified IRS crimes of a felonious nature.”
The videos appear to have been shot at sea, presumably in international waters as described by McAfee, where he said he would rely on proxies on U.S. soil to help run his campaign for office.
While the developments are a source of amusement to some in the cryptocurrency community, they are far from the first time McAfee has spoken out.
McAfee previously promised to “eat my d**k on national television” if Bitcoin Core (BTC) hadn’t reached a price $1 million by 2020, a claim that looks significantly more unlikely after the ongoing collapse in price since 2018.
His high profile launch of an “unhackable” crypto wallet Bitfi attracted similar bad press, when the wallet was ultimately hacked, leading to an embarrassing climb down on his previous security claims.
With McAfee’s presidential bid now officially ‘in exile,’ it remains to be seen whether this will do much for his electoral chances.
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