Image via Complex Original
The John McAfee saga finally came to a close yesterday with the anti-virus pioneer being detained and imprisoned in Guatemala, where he then suffered two heart attacks. He's currently awaiting deportation back to Belize in connection to the murder of his neighbor. Even though McAfee's bizarre fall from grace and run-in with law enforcement will be remembered for forever, he’s not the only tech tycoon to make the FBI’s most wanted list and traverse the globe in fear of imprisonment or, worse, paying back millions in reparations. From tax evaders to alleged murderers, theses are the 10 tech CEOS that have fled from the Feds. Many were caught, while some are still on the run eating.
Kim Woo-Choong
Company: Daewoo
Date captured: June 2005
In the mid-90s, Daewoo was the second largest conglomerate in South Korean—owning over 20 businesses specialzing in telecommunications, transportation, and manufacturing. Then the chaebol was forced into bankruptcy when its chairman embezzled $43 billion, while illegally “borrowing” an additional $10.3 billion and smuggling $3.2 billion out of the country. Woo-Choong fled to France shortly after, then came back to his home country where he was detained and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Stein Bagger
Company: IT Factor
Date captured: Dec. 6, 2008
The Danish CEO was accused of scamming several banks and Fortune 500 companies such as IBM out of an estimated $205 million. Once authorities caught onto his leasing scam which involved IT Factory leasing non-existing hardward and software bundles from fake companies, dude retreated to Dubai with several business associates and his family, where he suddenly went "missing." From there Stagger turned himself in to the LAPD and was shipped back to Denmark to serve seven years in the pen. He blamed his actions on being blackmailed by unnamed sources. That’s what they all say.
Gottfrid Svartholm Warg
Company: The Pirate Bay
Date captured: Sept. 2, 2012
Swedish law enforcement agencies initiated a global manhunt for the BitTorent king after Warg disappeared for several months before serving his original prison sentence in 2009 for copyright infringement. They caught up with him in Cambodia where local authorities held the fugitive captive. He’s set to carry out his one-year sentence with more jail time for fleeing the country from his initial verdict to be later assigned.
Shaileshkumar "Sam" Jain
Company: Innovative Marketing
Date captured: On the run
Innovative Marketing made over $100 million by selling “scareware” antivirus software, which was promoted by its felonious then-CEO, Sam Jain. Those products included WinFixer, Antivirus 2008, and VirusRemover 2008. Any of them sound familiar? According to a FBI transcript, Jain was arraigned for “conspiracy to commit computer fraud,” leading to a federal warrant being issued for his arrest. Funny thing is Jain was already considered a fugitive for failing to show up for a court appearance in California and not paying a $250,000 bond. The Feds were able to seize $15 million from Jain’s Swiss bank account. However, he remains a U.S. fugitive.
Tomo Razmilovic
Company: Symbol Technologies
Date captured: On the run
The mastermind behind a securities-related scam that cost the public more than $200 million dipped to his home country of Switzerland the moment a warrant was issued for his arrest in 2004. Not only was Razmilovic featured on every most wanted list across the nation, but the former CEO has been ordered to shell out over $90 million in civil damages. He's also been permanently barred from ever serving as an office of a company. A $100,000 bounty remains on his head at the moment.
William Millard
Company: Computerland Corp.
Date captured: Sept. 12, 2011
It took two decades, but the now 80-year-old PC retail pioneer was finally brought to justice for evading $100 million in unpaid taxes. Prior to his capture, Millard had been last seen on the Pacific island of Saipan in 1990 and went missing after selling his company. He would later be traced back to the Grand Cayman Island by investigators who linked him back to more than 50 shell companies, bank accounts, and trusts. Time to pay up gramps.
Jacob Alexander
Company: Comverse Technologies
Date captured: Sept. 27, 2006
Before being charged with multiple accounts of fraud, the former CEO, who ran a leading voicemail-software company, evaded the authorities by bouncing to a nation that has no extradition treaty with the U.S.: Namibia. He managed to transfer over $70 million from his US account to Israel, but was captured and held in Africa. From there, he was forced to pay back $53 million in civil suits. Alexander continued to fight extradition from Namibia and went on to sue his former company for $72 million in severance.
Kim "Dotcom" Schmitz
Company: Megaupload
Date captured: Jan. 21, 2012
Accused by the MPAA and the RIAA of costing the entertainment industry nearly $500 million, Megaupload co-founder, now known as Kim Dotcom, was indicted on numerous copyright infringement charges. New Zealand police raided the file-sharing kingpin’s mansion and arrested Schmitz (along with three other Megaupload executives) a day before his 38th birthday. According to reports, officers had to cut through a safe room where Dotcom barricaded himself. Jokes on them, as the Internet entrepreneur plans on launching a new online storage service called Mega in January 2013. The new site will give users full control (and responsibility) of their files.
Julian Assange
Company: WikiLeaks
Date captured: Dec. 7, 2010
The most infamous whistleblower of our generation (and arguably of all time) made himself Public Enemy No.1 after leaking some of the most controversial government and corporate files through his WikiLeaks organization. However, his the charges that could place Assange behind bars have nothing to do with war secrets. The Australian activist was pursued for rape and sexual assault allegations involving two women in Sweden. He was taken into custody and jailed in London, but has since been released and is avoiding extradition back to Sweden. He remains stranded at London’s Ecuador embassy, where Britain refuses to give him safe passage out of the country.
John McAfee
Company: McAfee
Date captured: Dec. 6, 2012
The chase for John McAfee finally came to an end when the security software tycoon was traced back to Guatemala after exclusive images posted by VICE surfaced online. The images lead to his arrest for the alleged murder of his neighbor in Belize and entering the country illegally. Fearing that he would be killed if he returned to Belize, McAfee requested political asylum in Guatemala. His request was denied right before he suffered two heart attacks. No one knows how this story will end.
