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Fyre Festival Disaster Lands Founder 6 Years in Prison

Oct. 12, 2018
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2 min read
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Fyre Festival Disaster Lands Founder 6 Years in Prison
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Music festivals: They're not for everyone. Loud, crowded, rowdy — whether your favorite band is playing or not, you want your money's worth, no? Well, for the guests who attended 2017's Fyre Festival, a "luxury musical festival" located in the Bahamas, their four-figure ticket price gave them shoddily assembled tents, bread and cheese sandwiches (not toasted) and overcrowded waiting rooms.


Now, the 27-year-old founder of the event, Billy McFarland, is paying the piper. After being found guilty on all charges, he was sentenced to six years in prison for defrauding investors of $27.4 million as well as creating a completely separate "luxury" concert ticket scam while he was out on bail.

“I can’t believe how wrong I was,” he said in court Thursday. “I can’t believe how stupid I was. I betrayed the trust of my investors, customers, family and the court. My mistakes were severe and they hurt a lot of people.”

McFarland claimed his conduct was caused by undiagnosed mental illnesses and that he had simply found himself "in over his head." However, his remarks were all but brushed off by US District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, who concluded that his claims simply did not line up with the facts. For example, he'd made expensive upgrades to his Manhattan apartment and purchased a Maserati while the fraud was still going on.

Fyre Festival was specifically intended to target "status seeking" millennials. Promotion for the event included appearances from celebrities and influencers such as Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Haley Baldwin and more. There were also promises of luxury private jets, gourmet foods and luxury cabanas. False advertising at its finest.

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Fyre Festival is just one example of a disastrously planned festival that occurred in the last few years. Tanacon, an anti-Vidcon attempt organized in part by YouTuber Tana Mongeau, yielded similar results of overcrowding and dehydrated, disappointed fans in June 2018. It might be hard to evade these glittery scams, but here are some signs to look out for so you can avoid a ticket might not be all it's promised to be.

Featured image by Patrick McMullan

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  • Solid welcome bonus

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  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
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  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
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  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
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