SEC Fines John McAfee’s Associate $375K in Penalties for ICO Promotions

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) judgment, Jimmy Gale Watson, a former associate of the now deceased John McAfee, has been fined for being paid to promote pump and dump-fashioned initial coin offerings (ICOs). The SEC has ruled that Watson must pay roughly $375K in penalties and he’s not allowed to participate in any commercial-based or professionally-offered security and digital currency schemes.

McAfee’s Associate Jimmy Gale Watson Fined $375K and Banned From Professional Securities and Digital Asset Schemes

• While John McAfee’s remains are still in a morgue in Spain, one of his associates, Jimmy Gale Watson, has been fined by the SEC and banned from professional investment service and brokerage programs.
• Watson was ostensibly an “executive adviser” of the “McAfee Team,” and he was charged with money laundering and securities fraud after his arrest in Texas. U.S. law enforcement accused Watson and McAfee of endorsing ICOs after being paid and profiting from “pump and dump” strategies.

• The former “McAfee Team” associate entered a plea of not guilty in March 2021 and the case has continued with the SEC’s final judgment filed on July 13, 2022. The SEC has ruled that Watson must pay a fine of around $375K in penalties and the former McAfee associate is barred from dealing with securities and crypto assets in a professional manner.
• Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss detailed when Watson was indicted that he allegedly leveraged McAfee’s Twitter account to promote the ICO projects. She noted that McAfee’s Twitter account held a “strong amount of evidence.”
• “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,” Strauss declared on March 5.

• Meanwhile, John McAfee reportedly committed suicide in Spain just over a year ago, but his widow Janice McAfee doesn’t accept the Spanish officials’ story. “I’m not buying it,” McAfee’s widow explained in July 2021.
• Janice McAfee and other members of John’s family have petitioned the Spanish High Court to get a third party to do another autopsy on John’s body and the legal matters behind the pending request made it so his corpse is still located in the morgue.
• While Watson may have to face other fraud charges going forward, a Notice of Death was issued regarding McAfee and the SEC’s claims for relief against McAfee’s alleged crimes have been waived.

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