Festival Fraudster Who Targeted Status Seekers Gets 6 Years
- McFarland admitted to Bahamas scheme, separate ticket scam
- Defense says crimes reflected his mental issues, alcohol abuse
Billy McFarland leaves federal court on March 6, 2018, in New York.
Photographer: Mark Lennihan/AP Photo
A New York man whose business ventures targeted wealthy, status-seeking millennials was sentenced to six years in prison for defrauding investors of $27.4 million in the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival and then, while out on bail, running a separate concert-ticket scam.
Billy McFarland, 27, appeared with family members in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday as U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald delivered the sentence. He pleaded guilty in March and July to the separate scams, which the government said were orchestrated to help pay for an extravagant lifestyle.