Fyre Founder Billy McFarland Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud Charges
Billy McFarland has pled not guilty to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a bank, Variety reports. McFarland is the founder of Fyre Media, the company behind the Fyre Festival debacle. He was arrested back in June following an FBI investigation. He faces two counts each on wire fraud for actively misrepresenting his and his company’s income with false statements. In U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim’s charges, McFarland is accused of making false statements to overstate Fyre’s financial stability to potential investors, making false claims about festival insurance policies, sharing fraudulent documents claiming that a bank approved a $3 million loan to Fyre, and more.
In addition to the criminal charges, numerous civil lawsuits have been filed against McFarland and associate Ja Rule in the past several months. Complaints allege the company knew the fest would be cancelled long before publicly announcing it, and that the organizers were guilty of “fraud, breach of contract, and negligent misrepresentation,” among other things.
Find all of Pitchfork’s Fyre coverage here, and read “Searching for Answers in Fyre Festival’s Viral Disaster” over on the Pitch.
This story originally appeared on Pitchfork.
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