Court Convicts John McAfee’s Accomplice in Crypto ICO Hoax

• SEC filed a complaint in October 2020 after Spanish authorities jailed McAfee.
• The court also submitted a notice of McAfee’s death, dismissing the agency’s claim.

The SEC reported today that Jimmy Gale Watson, Jr., a former associate of the late John McAfee, has agreed to a final judgement for his participation in an alleged ICO hoax. SEC filed a complaint in October 2020 after Spanish authorities jailed McAfee in Spain, stating that the antivirus pioneer pushed investments in ICOs with Watson’s assistance without revealing that they were paid for this.

Alleged Pump and Dump Scheme

It is claimed that Watson helped McAfee get promotional agreements and enabled McAfee to cash out the crypto payments it received. The SEC also alleged a pump and dump plan in which McAfee and Watson covertly built up huge holdings in a cryptocurrency and then promoted it on Twitter to sell it when the price soared.

According to the court’s ruling, Watson will be barred from purchasing, selling, or offering digital assets in the future and will be forced to pay a fine and prejudgment interest of more than $375,000. Watson may continue to acquire and sell digital assets “for his personal accounts,” as stated in the notification.

The court also submitted a notice of McAfee’s death, dismissing the agency’s claim against the late computer entrepreneur. The court ruled that the dismissal decision solely applied to McAfee and not Watson’s case.

SEC “allegations are overblown,” according to a McAfee statement from March 2021. When his body was discovered three months later, it seemed to be the result of a suicide, but his family maintains that this was not the case. “Pump-and-dump” operations that reportedly netted McAfee more than $23 million had put him on the run for months, and he was finally tracked down.

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