Fyre Festival Organizer Billy McFarland Pleads Not Guilty To Fraud Charges

Billy McFarland, the 25-year-old promoter behind Fyre Festival, pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a bank in Manhattan federal court this week. McFarland, who was arrested in June in NYC, is accused of defrauding investors who contributed money to the much criticized festival-turned-survivalist cosplay experience

Spin summarized the charges against McFarland:

McFarland faces two counts of wire fraud, one for allegedly defrauding investors in his company, Fyre Media, and a second for allegedly defrauding a ticket vendor. As part of the wire fraud charges, the government accuses McFarland of exaggerating Fyre Media’s revenue and his own personal wealth by falsifying documents such as emails, company financial statements, and stock ownership statements. Two additional charges of making false statements to a bank relate to McFarland’s attempts to secure loans.

After McFarland's arrest, acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said that he had "promised a 'life changing' music festival but in actuality delivered a disaster. McFarland allegedly presented fake documents to induce investors to put over a million dollars into his company and the fiasco called the Fyre Festival. Thanks to the investigative efforts of the FBI, McFarland will now have to answer for his crimes."

McFarland faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. His partner for Fyre Festival, Ja Rule, has not been brought up on criminal charges, but is named in a number of civil cases that have been filed since the aborted fest.

The luxury festival was set to take place in the Bahamas in April; it billed itself as "two transformative weekends" on the private island of Fyre Cay filled with big-name musical acts (Blink 182, Migos, Major Lazer, Rae Sremmurd, Skepta, Desiigner, Tyga, and Pusha T), luxury food and accommodations, and a horde of interchangeable models who wanted to party with the guests. Tickets cost between $4,000 and $25,000. However, organizers were not prepared and any ticket holders who made it to the festival site were left trapped there without the accommodations they paid for, empty concierge stations, little food, and cancelled flights. You can read more about what went wrong behind-the-scenes here.