ORLANDO — John McAfee of anti-virus software fame has been found liable and ordered by a federal judge to pay $25 million in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the estate of a Belize man. But McAfee has said he won't pay.
"I have not responded to a single one of my 37 lawsuits in the past 11 years," McAfee said in his "formal response to the media [who will spam my phones and who are responsible for most of my 200-plus lawsuits]" issued shortly after the judgment was announced. "They have all been frivolous, even though judges are required to decide for the plaintiff if I do not respond. I refuse to play the legal extortion game aimed at America's wealthy class."
McAfee argued in his response issued on his Twitter page that "over $200 million" in judgments have been handed down against him in those 11 years but that he has no assets, is "unable to pay a single penny to any of them" and "it is a truly mute point."
In a 14-page memorandum opinion and order issued March 19, U.S. District Court Judge Gregory A. Presnell, of U.S. District Court Florida Middle District Orlando Division, handed down the judgment that included $20 million in punitive damages. The judgment stemmed from the wrongful death case brought by the family of Gregory Faull, a retired general contractor and restaurateur who "had temporarily relocated to Belize from Florida" when he was allegedly murdered execution-style at McAfee's direction, according to the opinion.
Faull's death followed a long-running dispute between him and McAfee, who owned the home next to Faull's in Belize. Faull was discovered dead Nov. 11, 2012, from an apparent gunshot wound.
"It goes without saying that our society considers the acts at issue here – torture and murder – to be the most horrific that one person can inflict upon another," Presnell said in his opinion.
In his response, McAfee said he "was never suspected of murder by the Belizean authorites or any other authority."
"I was never charged with murder by Belizean authorities or any other authority. It was a suit based entirely on media reporting," he said.
In addition to posts promoting crypto currency and describing his life "in exile," McAfee also alleges on his Twitter page to be running for U.S. president in the 2020 election. He also says on his Twitter page that the IRS is charging him, his wife and four campaign workers for using "Crypto Cuttencies [sic] in criminal acts against the U.S. government." In a video posted to Twitter in January, McAfee alleges to have not paid taxes in eight years and invited the U.S. Government to "come and find me."
"I am a flight risk," McAfee said in that video. "Obviously, I am in flight."