Billy McFarland Biography
Billy McFarland is a convicted felon and American con artist who co-founded the ill-fated Fyre Festival. He defrauded investors out of $27.4 million by marketing and selling festival and other event tickets.
How old is Billy McFarland? – Age
He is 31 years old as of 11 December 2022. He was born in 1991 in New York, New York, United States.
Billy McFarland Family – Education
His parents are property developers. In 2010, he graduated from the Pingry School. He went on to attend Bucknell University, but dropped out in May of his freshman year.
Did Anna Delvey stay with Billy McFarland?
Anna Delvey has previously worked with New York’s elite, including Billy and Martin Shkreli. Delvey, as depicted in the series, knew members of McFarland’s team and asked to stay for a few days. Despite McFarland and his team’s displeasure, she stayed, and the entrepreneur was unable to kick her out. Delvey was forced to leave when the company relocated its headquarters.
Billy McFarland Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of $26 Million.
Billy McFarland Fyre Festival
McFarland founded Fyre Media and publicized the Fyre Festival, a luxury music festival in the Bahamas, to promote the Fyre music-booking app. The festival, set to take place in April 2017, was promoted by a video featuring a slew of Instagram models, including Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski, who, along with Kendall Jenner, were all expected to attend.
However, the festival was canceled after guests had begun to arrive on Great Exuma island due to a number of serious management, administration, and misrepresentation issues. Instead of the lavish villas and meals promised, guests were met with tents and pre-packaged sandwiches. The festival was later the subject of federal investigations and multiple lawsuits in the United States.
McFarland borrowed up to $7 million to fund the festival, taking out a loan with a 120 percent effective annualized rate. McFarland defaulted on the loan, and the lender filed a lawsuit.
The Fyre Festival controversy was detailed in two documentaries released in January 2019: Hulu’s Fyre Fraud, directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason on January 14, and Netflix’s Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, directed by Chris Smith on January 18.
Billy McFarland Conviction
Billy and Ja Rule were sued for $100 million in a class-action lawsuit on May 1, 2017 in relation to the failed Fyre Festival, which left attendees stranded on the island of Great Exuma without basic provisions. In addition to the May 2017 class-action lawsuit, 6 federal and 4 individual lawsuits were filed in connection with the scheme. McFarland was arrested on June 30, 2017, by federal agents and charged with wire fraud in connection with Fyre and Fyre Festival. On July 1, he was released on $300,000 bail. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristy Greenberg, McFarland faced up to 4 years and 9 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
McFarland’s brief but eventful career demonstrated a “pattern of deception” and “overpromising luxury experiences that were not delivered,” she added. In July 2017, McFarland was represented by a public defender at a bail hearing after his previous legal team “had not been paid enough to continue to represent him”. McFarland later retained the representation of the private firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner. While on bail, he committed additional fraud through a scheme called “NYC VIP Access,” in which he sold tickets to events that had either not been announced or were not available for public purchase, including the Met Gala. Footage of him committing this fraud was (inadvertently) captured and later featured in Netflix’s Fyre documentary.
McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in federal court in Manhattan in March 2018, admitting to using forged documents to entice investors to put more than $26 million into his company. He agreed to give up $26 million. While out on bail, McFarland was charged on June 12, 2018, with selling fraudulent tickets to events such as the Met Gala, Burning Man, and Coachella.
Billy McFarland Jail
McFarland was sentenced to six years in federal prison on October 11, 2018. During the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, McFarland requested compassionate release from Federal Correctional Institution, Elkton in Lisbon, Ohio, to avoid contracting the virus, arguing that as an asthmatic, he was especially vulnerable. His request was denied the following month. McFarland was housed at the RRM New York in Brooklyn, New York, and it was reported in July 2020 that he tested positive for COVID-19 at the facility. On March 30, 2022, he was released from prison and transferred to a halfway house. His house arrest was lifted in September 2022.