Billy McFarland, who organized the high-profile, fraudulent Fyre Festival in 2017, received an early release from prison and is living in a New York halfway house, Billboard reported.
McFarland was released from the Milan Federal Correctional Institution in Milan, Michigan, where he was being held, according to the Bureau of Prisons website and confirmed to Billboard by his attorney, Jason Russo.
He is under the management of Residential Reentry Management New York, which is the administrative office overseeing halfway houses located in southern New York, eastern New York and New Jersey.
McFarland’s attorney says his client’s focus now is on “the best way to generate income to pay this restitution back and make amends.” https://t.co/07jrSUOTqM
— billboard (@billboard) May 19, 2022
TMZ was the first outlet to report McFarland’s release.
McFarland was expected to stay in prison through the end of August 2023, Variety reported.
The 2017 Fyre Festival was billed as a glamorous party on a deserted island in the Bahamas, the BBC reported. It was publicized by Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin, and tickets cost up to $100,000, the news website reported.
Guests were lured with promises of “the best in food, art, music and adventure,” the BBC reported. Instead, guests were stranded on an island without food, shelter or water, Variety reported.
Fyre Fest also promised top-of-the-line performances by Pusha T, Tyga, Migos and Blink-182, but they all dropped out just days before the event, according to the website.
McFarland, the producer of the festival, pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in March 2018. He was sentenced in 2018 to six years in prison, according to the entertainment website. McFarland also pleaded guilty to charges in a ticket-selling scam.
Russo said that McFarland is focused on repaying the roughly $26 million he owes in restitution for his crimes.
“What’s the best way to generate income to pay this restitution back and make amends,” Russo told Billboard. “Any new projects that he does become involved in will be done solely for the purpose of generating the restitution for paying back his victims.”
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