Fyre Festival promoter Billy McFarland arrested
McFarland is facing jail time after deliberately "misrepresenting the financial status of his businesses in order to rake in lucrative investment deals", alleges the FBI
News By | 3 July 2017
Billy McFarland, the CEO of the company behind the ill-fated Fyre Festival, is facing up to 20 years in prison following his arrest for allegedly operating a “scheme to defraud investors” out of approximately US$1.2 million.
Fyre Media founder McFarland – who was, along with rapper Ja Rule (Jeffrey Atkins), the public face of the Bahamian festival, which spectacularly collapsed on its first day on 28 April – has been charged with one count of wire fraud by the US district attorney in Manhattan, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ jail time.
The criminal complaint against McFarland follows several private lawsuits aimed at recovering lost funds from the doomed event, including from attendees, suppliers and a ticketing company, and McFarland and Atkins’ being banned from the…
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