Fyre Festival Disaster Lands Founder 6 Years in Prison
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.
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.
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- Earn 150,000 bonus miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
- Top rated mobile app