The music festival disasterpiece and legally-inconsequential cheese sandwich heard 'round the world continues to reverberate: fraudster Billy McFarland has been released from prison before the anticipated end of his sentence.
The Fyre Festival founder was charged with a total of three counts of wire fraud and one of money laundering for his involvement in the ill-fated 2017 event, as well as for running a fake ticket-selling service while on bail. Back in 2018, McFarland was given a sentence of six years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release — meaning he shouldn't have been out until 2024.
Instead, he was released on March 30 after four years and transferred to "community confinement" [via TMZ]. He's expected to stay there, in what is likely a halfway house or a personal home, until August.
The entrepreneur's lawyers first campaigned for his early release back in 2020. In 2021, 277 Fyre Fest attendees were each awarded a $7,220 USD payout in a class-action settlement — except they only ended up receiving $281 each, with the festival only having $78,000 to go around amid its bankruptcy case.
The Fyre Festival founder was charged with a total of three counts of wire fraud and one of money laundering for his involvement in the ill-fated 2017 event, as well as for running a fake ticket-selling service while on bail. Back in 2018, McFarland was given a sentence of six years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release — meaning he shouldn't have been out until 2024.
Instead, he was released on March 30 after four years and transferred to "community confinement" [via TMZ]. He's expected to stay there, in what is likely a halfway house or a personal home, until August.
The entrepreneur's lawyers first campaigned for his early release back in 2020. In 2021, 277 Fyre Fest attendees were each awarded a $7,220 USD payout in a class-action settlement — except they only ended up receiving $281 each, with the festival only having $78,000 to go around amid its bankruptcy case.
