FEST ARREST
TIME TO FACE the music.
The entrepreneur who organized a luxury rock and hip-hop festival in the Bahamas that turned into an epic flop was busted Friday for ripping off investors, Manhattan federal prosecutors said.
Billy McFarland, 25, was charged with wire fraud for duping investors into pouring more than $1 milllion into his company to put on the Fyre Festival, according to prosecutors.
He is accused of showing phony documents that inflated the value and revenue of his firm, Fyre Media, and the festival.
He also lied to investors, and said his company earned millions of dollars in revenue from artist bookings, prosecutors said. Two people allegedly gave a total of $1.2 million based on McFarland’s scheme.
“McFarland promised a ‘life changing’ music festival but in actuality delivered a disaster,” acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said.
The festival was supposed to take place over two weekends in April and May on the island of Exuma in the Bahamas. Tickets ranged from $1,500 to a jawdropping $250,000.
The marquee lineup included punk rockers Blink-182, electronic trio Major Lazer and rapper Migos. But a day before the festival kicked off, Blink-182 pulled out over production concerns.
Meanwhile, fans who arrived at the island found the festival did not live up to its ultra-luxurious billing.
They took their disappointment to social media, chronicling the sparse quarters, lack of lavatories, underwhelming eats and travel headaches.
The condemnation led the festival organizers to pull the plug on it after the second day.
Federal investigators started eying the doomed event shortly thereafter.
“In the end, the very public failure of the Fyre Festival signaled that something just wasn’t right,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr.
McFarland is scheduled to appear before a federal judge on Saturday.
He partnered in the venture with the rapper Ja Rule. Disgruntled ticket buyers and investors have already slapped the pair with more than a dozen lawsuits. Ja Rule has not been charged with any crime.
If convicted, McFarland could face up to 20 years in prison.