Billy McFarland Biography and Wiki
Billy McFarland born William Z. McFarland is an American con artist and convicted felon who co-founded the ill-fated Fyre Festival. He defrauded investors of $27.4 million by marketing and selling tickets to the festival and other events. Vanity Fair describes him as “the poster boy for millennial scamming”.
In 2013, McFarland founded Magnises, a card-based club targeted at millennials, using $1.5 million of investor funding. He later founded and was CEO of Fyre Media, which developed the Fyre mobile app for booking music talent. In late 2016, along with rapper Ja Rule, McFarland co-founded the Fyre Festival, a “luxury” music festival intended to promote the Fyre app. The event was scheduled to take place in April and May 2017 but was aborted after attendees had arrived due to problems with security, food, logistics, understaffing, accommodations, and talent relations.
In May 2017, McFarland and Ja Rule were sued for $100 million in a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Fyre Festival attendees. The following month, McFarland was arrested and charged with wire fraud in Manhattan federal court for his role in the organization of the festival. After pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud in March 2018, he was sentenced to six years in federal prison. He was released in late March 2022 after serving less than four years.
10 Quick Facts About Billy McFarland
Here is a list are 10 facts
- Name: William Z. McFarland
- Age: 33 years old
- Birthday: December 11th
- Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
- Height: 6 feet 4 inches
- Nationality: American
- Occupation: Businessman
- Marital Status: To be Updated
- Salary: To be Updated
- Net worth: $1 million and $5 million
Billy McFarland Age
McFarland is 33 years old. He was born on December 11, 1991, in New York City, New York, United States. He also celebrates his birthday on December 11th every year. Moreover, his birth sign is Sagittarius.
Billy McFarland Height
Billy measures an average standing height of 6 feet 4 inches tall which is equivalent to 1.94 meters tall. He also has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.
Billy McFarland Weight
McFarland measures an average weight of 89 kilograms which is equivalent to 196 lbs. However, his other body measurements are currently under review and will be updated as soon as it has been made publicly available.
Billy McFarland Early Life and Education
He was raised in the West Sheffield Short Hills section of Millburn, New Jersey. His parents are real estate developers. McFarland told the New York Post that, at age 13, he founded an online outsourcing startup that matched clients with web designers. He graduated from the Pingry School in 2010. He then attended Bucknell University, where he dropped out in May of his freshman year.
Rise To Fame
William Z. McFarland is an American con artist and convicted felon who co-founded the ill-fated Fyre Festival. He defrauded investors of $27.4 million by marketing and selling tickets to the festival and other events. Vanity Fair describes him as “the poster boy for millennial scamming”.
Billy McFarland Family, Parents, and Siblings
Billy was born and raised by his parents in New York City, New York. Our efforts to find out more about his family came to no avail as no such information is publicly available. Thus, the identity of McFarland’s parents is still unclear. It is also not known if he has any siblings. We will update this section once this information is available.
Billy McFarland Dating, Wife, and Children
McFarland has not gone public with his relationship, it is not publicly known whether he is married or in a relationship. His partner’s information will be updated as soon as the information is available.
Billy McFarland Salary
Details about his salary are not yet disclosed. However, information about how much he makes will be updated as soon as it is available.
Billy McFarland Net Worth
Billy has an estimated Net Worth of between $1 million and $5 million. This includes his Assets, Money, and Income. His primary source of income is his career as a businessman. Through his various income sources, McFarland has accumulated good fortune but prefers to lead a modest lifestyle.
Billy McFarland Measurements and Facts
Here are some interesting facts and body measurements you should know about McFarland
Billy McFarland Bio and Wiki
- Full Name: William Z. McFarland
- Popular As: Billy McFarland
- Gender: Male
- Occupation / Profession: Businessman
- Nationality: American
- Race / Ethnicity: White
- Religion: Not Available
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
Billy McFarland Birthday
- Age / How Old?: 33 years old
- Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
- Date of Birth: December 11, 1991
- Place of Birth: New York City, New York, United States
- Birthday: December 11
Billy McFarland Body Measurements
- Body Measurements: To be Updated
- Height / How Tall?: 6 feet 4 inches
- Weight: 89 kilograms
- Eye Color: Dark Brown
- Hair Color: Dark Brown
- Shoe Size: To be Updated
Billy McFarland Family and Relationship
- Father (Dad): Not Available
- Mother: Not Available
- Siblings (Brothers and Sisters): Not Available
- Marital Status: Not Available
- Dating/Girlfriend: Not Available
- Children: Not Available
Billy McFarland Networth and Salary
- Net Worth: $1 million and $5 million
- Salary: Under review
- Source of Income: Businessman
Billy McFarland Career
After McFarland dropped out of college, he founded the short-lived online advertisement platform Spling, where he served as CEO. TechCrunch described Spling as a content-sharing network, criticizing its similarity to other services that existed at the time.
In August 2013, McFarland seeded payments company Magnises with $1.5 million of investor funding, aiming to create an exclusive “black card” with social perks, such as club membership, targeted at status-oriented millennials in certain big cities.
McFarland also launched Fyre Media Inc., the parent company of the Fyre Festival. In a term sheet sent to investors, Fyre Media claimed to be worth $90 million; however, according to authorities, the company only did about $60,000 in business.
Fyre Festival
McFarland founded Fyre Media and publicized a luxury music festival in the Bahamas, called Fyre Festival, to promote the Fyre music-booking application. The festival, to be held in April 2017, was advertised by a video that included a bevy of Instagram models including Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski who, along with Kendall Jenner, were all expected to be at the festival.
However, the festival experienced a number of serious management, administration, and misrepresentation issues, and was canceled after guests had begun to arrive at Great Exuma Island. Guests were met with tents and pre-packaged sandwiches instead of the lavish villas and meals they were promised. The festival subsequently became the focus of U.S. federal investigations and multiple lawsuits.
McFarland borrowed as much as $7 million in an effort to fund the festival, taking one loan with an effective annualized rate of 120 percent. McFarland defaulted on the loan, and the lender sued.
The controversy around Fyre Festival was detailed in two documentaries in January 2019: Hulu released Fyre Fraud directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason on January 14, and Netflix released Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, directed by Chris Smith, on January 18.
Fraud conviction
On May 1, 2017, Fyre Festival organizers Billy McFarland and Ja Rule were sued for $100 million in a class-action lawsuit in relation to the failed Fyre Festival that left attendees stranded on the island of Great Exuma without basic provisions.
In addition to the class-action lawsuit filed in May 2017, 6 federal and 4 individual lawsuits were filed in relation to the scheme. McFarland was arrested by federal agents on June 30, 2017, and charged with wire fraud in relation to Fyre and Fyre Festival.
He was released on $300,000 bail on July 1. McFarland faced up to 4 years and 9 months under U.S. sentencing guidelines, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristy Greenberg. She added that McFarland’s short but eventful career showed a “pattern of deception” and “overpromising luxury experiences that were not delivered”.
In July 2017, McFarland was represented by a public defender at a bail hearing after his previous legal team “had not been paid enough to continue to represent him”. McFarland later hired the private firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner as representation.
While on bail, he committed further fraud with a scheme called “NYC VIP Access” selling tickets to events that had either not been announced or that tickets were unavailable for public purchase to attend, including the Met Gala. Footage of him carrying out this fraud was (inadvertently) recorded and later appeared in Netflix’s Fyre documentary.
In March 2018, McFarland pleaded guilty to 2 counts of wire fraud in federal court in Manhattan and admitted to using fake documents to attract investors to put more than $26 million into his company.
He agreed to forfeit $26 million. On June 12, 2018, McFarland was charged with selling fraudulent tickets to events such as the Met Gala, Burning Man, and Coachella while out on bail.
Incarceration
On October 11, 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in federal prison. During his time in prison, McFarland says he attempted to write a book using voice notes and create a podcast using a prison phone.
He says both of these were not allowed, and therefore he was punished by being put in solitary confinement. In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, McFarland requested compassionate release from Federal Correctional Institution, Elkton, in Lisbon, Ohio, to avoid contracting the virus, with the reasoning that as an asthmatic he was especially vulnerable to the virus. His request was denied the same month.
In July 2020, it was reported that McFarland tested positive for COVID-19 at the facility. He was released from prison early on March 30, 2022, to be relocated to a halfway house. His time under house arrest ended in September 2022.
Post-incarceration
In October 2022, McFarland teased in a video on TikTok and YouTube Shorts that he was planning a new business venture called “PYRT”, with more details to be announced in November 2022.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, he described it as a “virtual immersive decentralized reality”. The magazine described it as “Fyre Festival Lite, without the capacity issues”. The Government of the Bahamas responded to speculation that PYRT may hold events in the country by stating they consider him a “fugitive” and would not endorse any event associated with McFarland.
In April 2023, McFarland announced via Twitter that “Fyre Festival II is finally happening”. As of April 2023, he had not provided any details, such as musical guests or dates. In August 2023, McFarland announced on TikTok that the “first 100” tickets for Fyre II were on sale for $499, despite still not having a venue, a date, or any musical acts.
Billy McFarland Contacts
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