The organizer of the Fyre Festival will spend the next six years in the feds. According to The New York Times, 26-year-old Billy McFarland’s scamming days have caught up with him. He was found guilty of wire fraud after scamming over 80 investors out of $26 million and leaving hundreds of ticket buyers stranded at his failed music festival in the Bahamas last year.
As we previously reported, he promised luxury accommodations and A-list performances but the festival never happened and folks where stuck sleeping in, what a few festival goers described as, a dump. Prosecutors also said the festival’s website identified its location as “Fyre Cay,” a place that doesn’t exist but was being advertised as a private island that drug lord Pablo Escobar once owned.
If that wasn’t enough, he was also sentenced for additional fraud charges after being busted for running a fake ticket-selling scam while out on bail! According to The New York Times, federal prosecutors said McFarland ran a company that “sold fraudulent tickets to exclusive events like the Met Gala, Burning Man and Coachella. In one case, the authorities said, two customers flew from Florida to New York for the Grammy Awards, only to be turned away at the door.”
Prosecutors also claimed he tried to hide his involvement by using an email account under the name of another employee at his company. He also reportedly sent the profits to other people’s accounts. They allege that the 26-year-old defrauded about 15 customers out of around $100,000!
Fyre Festival Founder Billy McFarland Arrested Again For Scamming While Out On Bail
Back in March, McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, which reportedly resulted in $24 million in losses. #Roommates, do you think his time fits the crime?
TSR STAFF: Myeisha E.! @myeisha.essex
