Fyre Festival founder pleads guilty to crimes commited while out on bail
Last year, the Fyre festival, the "premium festival" which was marketed towards high income consumers, ended in a debacle where many acts did not appear at the festival's island location due to non-payment, the island was unprepared to host the festival, and attendees had to be literally air lifted off the island in a state of emergency.
After that collapse, Fyre co-founder Billy McFarland was charged with wire fraud and intentionally making false statements to banks. McFarland plead guilty to those charges in March 2018.
However, McFarland was charged with an additional count of wire fraud and money laundering a few months ago by the Southern District of New York. The Feds alleged that in 2017, McFarland, while out on bail and awaiting the outcome of his previous charges, had employees call the highest earning Fyre festival attendees. Then, McFarland's company would allegedly offer those people tickets (at premium prices) to things including the 2018 Met Gala, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and a private dinner with LeBron James. Prosecutors alleged that MCFarland never had access to these tickets and it was another scam.
Today, McFarland took a plea deal to the new charges and plead guilty to felony charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, and lying to a federal officer. Sentencing has not been determined. The plea deal has a federal sentencing recommendation of 135 to 168 months imprisonment. However, he could be sentenced to as many as 75 years as per applicable Federal statutes. Meanwhile, he is still awaiting sentencing on two counts of wire fraud related to Fyre festival itself.