Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland faces new fraud charges

He was arrested on Tuesday on charges that he continued to commit fraud after pleading guilty in March to defrauding Fyre Festival investors and vendors

Fyre Festival organiser Billy McFarland has been arrested again on fraud charges as he awaits sentencing on an earlier case.

The Hollywood Reporter states William F. Sweeney Jr., the head of New York’s FBI office, has said McFarland has been arrested on new charges, which see him accused of continuing to commit crimes after pleading guilty in March to defrauding investors and vendors over the disastrous Fyre Festival.

He was arrested on Tuesday on charges that he conducted a sham ticket scheme, selling fraudulent tickets to various cultural events. Sweeney Jr. has said McFarland sold fraudulent tickets totaling almost $100,000.

He had previously pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud in connection with Fyre Festival. He was arrested in June, following an FBI investigation, pleading not guilty to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a bank in October.

McFarland agreed to a plea deal on Tuesday, 6 March; he told US District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald: “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”, he admitted. “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.”

He faces eight to 10 years in prison and will be sentenced 21 June. He also admitted to giving fake information about Fyre Media’s financial status to a ticket vendor last April to convince the vendor to buy $2m (£1,440,000) in advance tickets.

Set on the island of Exumas in the Bahamas, Fyre Festival was initially described as the “culture experience of the decade” as a luxury event during the last two weekends of April and May in 2017. The festival boasted a lineup of Major Lazer, Disclosure, Lil Yachty, Blink-182, Migos and more.

The event was promoted on social media with models like Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski trying to lure people into buying tickets ranging from $1,200 to over $100,000.

When concertgoers arrived in the Bahamas, they learned that Blink-182 and Migos had cancelled, and they were stuck in a Lord of the Flies nightmare.

Gourmet food included slices of cheese on white bread and luxurious accommodations included flimsy, leaking tents. The hashtag #fyrefraud began trending after attendees were stranded on the island or in airports on their way to the festival.

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