McAfee in Miami: I Faked Illness

Antivirus guru says he 'played crazy card'
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 14, 2012 4:48 AM CST
McAfee in Miami: I Faked Illness
Anti-virus software founder John McAfee sits in a taxi cab in the South Beach area of Miami Beach, Fla., on his way to dinner Wednesday, Dec 12, 2012.   (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

John McAfee is back in the US, regaling ABC News with his latest adventures. After he arrived in Miami, he was met by several officers. "I said, 'Am I arrested?' They said, 'No, sir, I am here to help you.' That felt the best of all," the antivirus tycoon says. With his fortune left behind in Belize, however, "I have nothing now"—though he got a pack of $5 bills through a "Canadian friend." Reflecting on his escape from Belize, he says he played the "crazy card."

His supposed illness in Guatemala was "a deception," he says, to prevent immediate deportation to Belize, where he's wanted for questioning in his neighbor's death. As for people who call the whole ordeal a publicity stunt, he asked, "What's a better story, millionaire mad man on the run? You (the media) saved my ass." He believes Belize wants him dead, but "as long as you are reporting, it is hard to whack somebody that the world is watching." Next, he aims to help his 17- and 20-year-old girlfriends leave Belize; after that, he's unsure of his plans. Click through for more on McAfee's escapades. (More John McAfee stories.)

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