Billy McFarland is trying his hand in the music festival world once again. Nearly five years after his infamous Fyre Festival nightmare, the marketing con artist is seemingly back with another venture. On Monday (October 25), McFarland took to TikTok to tease an event, which sparked many social media users curiosity.
According to the former convict, his upcoming project is a way to make up for the failed Fyre Festival experience. He says more information about the event will be revealed in November — and unlike his last exclusive event, “everybody is invited” this time around.
Sparking even more interest in the undisclosed event, Billy posted a “clue” about the project on YouTube, which featured a video of a woman swimming underwater with sharks.
The teaser comes seven months after McFarland was released from prison after serving 4 of his six year sentence in a federal prison. Before his 2018 sentencing, the 30-year old admitted to defrauding investors who supported the Fyre Festival, which promised guests an extravagant experience on Exuma island in the Bahamas.
Back in March, he was released from the Milan Federal Correctional Institution to Residential Reentry Management halfway house in New York. During the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, his lawyers requested a compassionate release from prison, claiming he was “particularly vulnerable” to COVID-19. However, the request was denied and Billy continued on serving more than half of his sentence.
His attorney, Jason Russo says that McFarland is now solely 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 reporters. “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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