Fyre Festival Bro Pleads Guilty For Wire Fraud Over The "Life-Changing" Event

Fyre Festival Bro may be joining Pharma Bro in jail.

The promoter of the infamously bad Fyre Festival pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges on Tuesday. Billy McFarland, 26, may now face up to ten years behind bars for lying to investors about the disgraced 2016 Bahamas festival, founded by Ja Rule. Those investors lost about $26 million, according to the Associated Press.

“I deeply regret my actions, and I apologize to my investors, team, family and supporters who I let down,” McFarland said in a Manhattan court this week, adding that he had the best intentions to create “a legitimate festival.”

“I grossly underestimated the resources that would be necessary to hold an event of this magnitude,” he said. “In an attempt to raise what I thought were needed funds, I lied to investors about various aspects of Fyre Media and my personal finances. Those lies included false documents and information.”

McFarland additionally pleaded guilty to lying to an unnamed ticket broker to put in $2 million for future Fyre Festivals, according to National Public Radio. McFarland is expected to be sentenced in June.

The two-weekend event was advertised as “life-changing” and “the cultural experience of the decade.” Well, it definitely was … something.

Before it even began, it went south. Organizers were in deep over security, food, accommodations and artist problems. It became so disorganized that the festival was indefinitely postponed. At that point though, some festival-goers had already arrived. Most had paid thousands to attend.

A lawsuit filed in May by festival attendees Matthew Herlihy and Anthony Lauriello accuses McFarland and festival co-founder Ja Rule of "false representations, material omissions and negligence." The lack of bathrooms and showers on the island is among the lawsuit’s many claims.
"The island was lacking basic amenities," the suit alleges. "There were no communal showers or bathrooms as promised; instead there were port-a-potties (only about one for every 200 yards) that were knocked down and only three showers although there were hundreds of people arriving."

[Photo: Getty Images]