Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland, 26, was hit with two more charges regarding a ticket scam through his company NYC VIP Access, federal prosecutors revealed Tuesday.
McFarland became infamous after 2017’s Fyre Festival disaster in the Bahamas, after which he pleaded guilty to fraud for promoting a supposedly life-changing event that for the most part didn’t actually exist . The new charges came while McFarland was out on $300,000 bail.
“William McFarland, already awaiting sentencing for a prior fraud scheme, allegedly continued to conduct criminal business as usual,” United States Attorney Geoffrey Berman said, according to the New York Times.
McFarland’s new charges include wire fraud and money laundering for defrauding people out of $100,000 through a ticket scheme federal prosecutors allege he orchestrated.
According to the charges NYC VIP Access sold fraudulent tickets to special events in fashion, music and sports including Burning Man, Coachella, the Grammy Awards, and the Met Gala, reports Vice News. The company reportedly targeted people with high incomes who paid for Fyre Festival.
The charges also allege that McFarland tried to conceal his involvement in the scam by putting the proceeds in other people’s accounts.
Each count of wire fraud has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, as does money laundering. McFarland will be sentenced next week for the 2017 charges.
Coins2Day could not reach an attorney representing McFarland at the time of publication.
