The organizer of the disastrous Fyre Festival, Billy McFarland, has officially been sentenced to six years in prison, bringing just over a year of ongoing litigation to a close.
As reported by The New York Times, a federal judge in Manhattan sentenced the 26-year-old on Thursday (Oct. 11). Prosecutors previously requested a sentence of at least 11 years, referring to the defendant as a “consummate con artist.”
In March of this year, McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud after investigators found out that he defrauded investors using his company, Fyre Media, resulting in a reported $24 million in losses. He has since been ordered to repay the investors in full.
Then, while out on bail, McFarland pleaded guilty to two more counts of fraud related to another company he ran after the disaster that was Fyre Festival went down; where he sold fraudulent tickets to fashion, music and sports events, and was found out to have cost roughly 30 people in his scam at least $150,000.
“I know that I betrayed the trust of my investors, my customers, my family,” Mr. McFarland said in a statement prior to being sentenced. “This is an extremely bitter reality.”
Fyre Festival made headlines last year when the music festival, initially billed as a getaway luxury event in the Bahamas, left attendees with bare accommodations and canceled performances.
Just last month, Ja Rule continued to distance himself from the festival he once promoted and had a hand in, claiming that the festival attendees pursuing legal action are only targeting him because he “is the only person associated with the event who has any money.”