Remember the fiasco that was Fyre Festival? One of the founders just got arrested for wire fraud
Music festivals are supposed to be fun events…usually. Well, remember the fiasco that was Fyre Festival? Now, one of the founders of Fyre Festival got arrested for wire fraud, Esquire reported. The person in question is the entrepreneur behind the festival, Billy McFarland. ICYMI, Fyre Festival was advertised as an elite event and took place on the island of Great Exuma in the Bahamas back in April. Of course, it was supposed to be ~amazing~, with acts like Blink-182 to perform. But when the music festival didn’t deliver on its promises and was then canceled, it left behind a sea of angry festival-goers, as well as investors and workers.
You may remember images like this taking over social media.
Expectation vs. Reality#fyre #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/U80NApajxl
— William N. Finley IV(It’s real. I made it up) (@WNFIV) April 28, 2017
There were also issues with the food…
The dinner that @fyrefestival promised us was catered by Steven Starr is literally bread, cheese, and salad with dressing. #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/I8d0UlSNbd
— Tr3vor.sol (@TrevorDeHaas) April 28, 2017
And it was hard to find the concierge!
If you need assistance @fyrefestival report to the concierge desk immediately #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/AF1MxRvIVh
— J West (@johnwest888) April 28, 2017
This visual says it all!
So Fyre Fest is a complete disaster. Mass chaos. No organization. No one knows where to go. There are no villas, just a disaster tent city. pic.twitter.com/1lSWtnk7cA
— William N. Finley IV(It’s real. I made it up) (@WNFIV) April 27, 2017
So, cut to June 30th, when McFarland was arrested at his home in Manhattan on one count of wire fraud. Here he is in the past…
“As alleged, William McFarland promised a 'life changing' music festival but in actuality delivered a disaster, acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said in a statement from The United States Attorney’s office. “McFarland allegedly presented fake documents to induce investors to put over a million dollars into his company and the fiasco called the Fyre Festival. Thanks to the investigative efforts of the FBI, McFarland will now have to answer for his crimes.
However, on July 1st, McFarland was released on $300,000 bail, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Aside from the federal charges, McFarland and Ja Rule, who’s his partner in the fest, face more than a dozen lawsuits (!!). Though there was talk of another Fyre Festival next year, we somehow doubt it. Meanwhile, we’ll focus on other favorite festivals of ours, like Coachella and Burning Man. See you there!
