(Twitter)
One of the co-founders of the Fyre Festival has been arrested and charged with one count of federal wire fraud on Friday. This, according to the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors say that William “Billy” McFarland, who is the co-founder and CEO of Fyre Media defrauded at least two investors who invested over $1 million in total in the Fyre Festival. They also claim he presented one investor with false stock ownership while trying to legitimize the project.
He was arrested in New York and will appear before the judge on Saturday.
According to acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon Kim, McFarland “promised a life-changing music festival, but in actuality delivered a disaster.”
— Leaked docs show Fyre Festival execs were warned weeks before fiasco —
“McFarland allegedly presented fake documents to induce investors to put over a million dollars into his company and the fiasco called the Fyre Festival,” Kim stated.
McFarland has marketed the Fyre Festival as a high-end music festival that was to take place in the Exumas, which is in the Bahamas, last April.
Concert goers paid up to $12,000 to be a part of the luxurious event only to get there and find it was not even set up properly. Not a single act performed and people were left stranded on the island in the dark.
The sealed complaint was released on Friday and it alleged McFarland tricked investors to obtain “money and property by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises” between late 2016 and May 2017.
