Promoter of disastrous Fyre Festival faces 10 years in jail

The promoter of the failed Fyre Festival in the Bahamas has pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges, agreeing to serve up to 10 years in prison for lying to investors who lost over US$26 million.

Repentant Billy McFarland pleads guilty to fraud as he faces hefty prison sentence

Billy McFarland, 26, entered the plea in Manhattan Federal Court in a deal with prosecutors that suggested he serve between eight and 10 years in prison.

Billed as the ‘cultural experience of the decade’, the Fyre Festival was promoted on social media by Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski and other models and celebrities with festival packages ranging from US$1200 to over US$100,000.

Ticket buyers hoping to see Blink-182 and the hip hop act Migos and stay in 5-star accommodation arrived on the Bahamian island of Exuma to find the music acts had pulled out and their 5-star accommodation consisted of emergency canvas tents.

Unhappy fans soon started a social media backlash with the hashtag #fyrefraud.

McFarland invested heavily in paid celebrity endorsements without much thought to the logistics of the event itself.

He explained “I deeply regret my actions, and I apologise to my investors, team, family and supporters who I let down.

“I grossly underestimated the resources that would be necessary to hold an event of this magnitude. In an attempt to raise what I thought were needed funds, I lied to investors about various aspects of Fyre Media and my personal finances. Those lies included false documents and information.”

Images: Billy McFarland (top) and tents that welcomed fans at the Fyre Festival (bottom).

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