Billy McFarland
Image: Patrick McMullan/PMC

Fyre Fest’s Billy McFarland Scores Early Release From Prison

The man behind the world’s most cooked music festival has walked free from jail after serving just half of his six-year sentence.

According to Billboard, Fyre Festival co-founder Billy McFarland has been granted early release from prison and is currently living in a halfway house in NYC.

Back in 2018, he was convicted of wire fraud and sentenced to six years hard time after defrauding investors of $26 million USD for the botched festival, which billed itself as an ultra-luxurious VIP experience in the Bahamas, with ticket packages ranging from US $1,200 to over a batshit insane US $100,000.

However, as you might recall, it ended up being nothing short of a catastrophe, with punters rocking up expecting to see live performances from the likes of Blink-182, Migos and more instead learning that all the music had been cancelled, while their ‘luxury accommodations’ and ‘gourmet food’ were in actuality leaky tents and cheese sandwiches.

McFarland has since come clean about lying to his investors (and everyone else) in a tell-all podcast he recorded from prison called Dumpster Fyre, which also landed in him solitary confinement.

Speaking following his client’s release, McFarland’s attorney, Jason Russo, said the convicted con artist is now focused on “the best way to generate income to pay this restitution back and make amends” for his crimes.

“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,” Russo said.

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