The most talked about festival of 2017 was the Fyre Festival but how did it become the biggest festive disaster?
Over 5,000 people spent thousands of dollars for tickets to a luxury music festival set on a private island in the Bahamas with beach villas only to find themselves at the most disorganized event and soaking wet mattresses lying on the beach.
Promotions for the much-hyped event, called Fyre Festival was one of the most hyped events of 2017 and it was being promoted and advertised by famous celebrities like Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Hailey Baldwin, and Emily Ratajkowski.
According to an advertisement, Fyre Festival was “a place where the tropical sun shines all day, and our celebrations ignite the night. This is an invitation to unplug, connect with something deeper, and hunt for something bigger.”
Tickets for the much-hyped festival costed up to $100,000 and guests who booked were promised “the best in food, art, music and adventure” while what they received was a cheese slice on a bread.
The festival was organized by Billy McFarland, who was 25 years old at that time. McFarland presented himself as a successful serial entrepreneur to the investors and lied about having launched multiple high-profile ventures. McFarland was termed a “serial fraudster” who has defrauded over 100 investors out of more than $26 million.
McFarland, who admitted to falsifying documents, including bank statements, that he showed to investors in order to secure their funds, pleaded guilty to 3 counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud and a charge of making false statements.
In 2018, Billy McFarland was sentenced to 6 years in prison and ordered to pay a restitution of more than $26 million to the investors and customers he had defrauded. In a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), McFarland was also banned on ever serving as an officer or a director of a public company.
The SEC also reported that McFarland had “used investor funds to bankroll a lavish lifestyle including living in a Manhattan penthouse apartment, partying with celebrities, and traveling by private plane and chauffeured luxury cars.”
Netflix also released a documentary titled “Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened” which focuses on the disastrous event.
