Who was Gregory Faull? John McAfee never paid the $25M in damages after he allegedly killed neighbor
As the death of antivirus pioneer John McAfee grips international media, an old case of his has resurfaced. In 2019, he was ordered to pay $25 million after a wrongful death suit was filed by the daughter of McAfee's ex-neighbor Gregory Faull. The eccentric businessman said he did not have the funds to do so and slammed the "extortion game". As a result, the family was never compensated.
McAfee, best known for his eccentric antics attempted to run for president of USA in 2020. We've reported that he had a "whackd" tattoo on his right arm, which he claims was because he would be killed by the US authorities. After being charged with securities fraud, he was wanted in the country for running a "pump and dump cryptocurrency scheme. McAfee was arrested in Spain in October and reportedly killed himself shortly before he was to be extradited back to the US.
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It is unclear how his death will affect the Faull family, but it appears as if they will be one of the many people denied justice. McAfee's lengthy Twitter statement says he has not responded to a single lawsuit filed over the past 11 years, because he does not have the ability to pay. Now that he is dead, the Faull family is left with little recourse to get justice.
Who was Gregory Faull?
A Florida builder, Faull was found dead on November 11, 2012, at his home in Belize. Born in West Virginia, Faull grew up in Florida and ended up in the US Navy. In the 1980s, he served as a Corpsman and was attached to the Marine Corps in Okinawa. It is unclear when he was discharged, but it was reportedly honorable. He then settled in Orlando and decided to enter the construction industry. Faull attended night school in order to obtain his General Contractor’s license.
Once he did, he opened Gregory V Faull, General Contractor Inc. Faull worked on a wide range of projects, from residential properties to Disney World. At the same time, Faull continued to maintain an active interest in sports, including deep-sea fishing. Reportedly, in 1999 he set a record at Port Canaveral when he caught a 110-pound bigeye tuna while trolling 110 miles offshore.
In the mid-2000s, Faull was working on the expansion of the University of Central Florida (UCF), when he had an idea. After years of persuasion and negotiation, he opened 'Tailgaters Smokehouse & Spirit'. The on-campus restaurant was the first at UCF to have a liquor license before it was unfortunately permanently closed after his death. In 2009, he was reportedly arrested on an aggravated domestic battery charge that was later dropped. That led to a divorce from his wife and a decision to move to Belize.
Faull purchased a badly damaged house and was attempting to restore it in Belize. He worked part-time for three years on the property, planning to offer it as a vacation rental. However, before he could, he was brutally murdered, with his death becoming a noted international scandal for the alleged role of McAfee.
What happened to Faull?
In November 2012, Belizian authorities found Faull dead, shot in the back of his head. Immediately all eyes when to McAfee, whom Faull had previously argued with. According to Faull's family, the builder had complained to the mayor two days before his death about McAfee's dogs. In the days leading up to his death, McAfee acknowledged that some of his dogs were poisoned, but denied killing Faul. "I don’t think anybody thinks I murdered my neighbor except you, the press," he told reporters.
Yet, the scandal continued, in part, thanks to McAfee's strange behavior. After Faull was killed, McAfee claimed he had been framed and fled to Guatemala, before flying back to Miami. What exactly happened is up for debate, but according to Faull's family and one documentary filmmaker, allegedly McAfee had Faull killed. According to the film 'Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee', the businessman had Faull tortured and killed by a local hitman for $5,000 after Faull allegedly poisoned his dogs.
In 2013, Faull's daughter filed a wrongful death suit, alleging that McAfee had her father killed. In March 2019, the judge ruled that McAfee would have to pay Faull's estate $5 million in compensation for emotional distress, $20 million in damages, and around $8,400 in funeral costs. However, the verdict was dismissed by McAfee, who said, "I was never charged with murder by the Belizian authorities." He added that "I have no assets and cannot pay. Estimates for what it has cost legal firms to try and collect runs into tens of millions."
Faull's family is yet to respond to the news of McAfee's death.