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★ Forbes 30U30 2016✅ Convicted
BILLY MCFARLAND
Fyre Festival · 2017
Event fraud / wire fraud
Billy McFarland co-promoted Fyre Festival as a luxury music experience in the Bahamas. He raised $26M and sold VIP packages for up to $250,000. The event collapsed — attendees arrived to disaster-relief tents, minimal food, no performers. McFarland pled guilty to wire fraud in March 2018 and was sentenced to 6 years in federal prison. He was released in 2022.
Raised
$26M
Outcome
🔒 Prison
Prison
6 yrs
Victims
5,000
Investors
Private investorsattendee ticket sales