Fyre Fest co-founder Billy McFarland is out of solitary confinement after spending six months in lockup for his participation in a podcast interview, according to Insider.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons database, McFarland was released and transferred to FTC Oklahoma City from FCI Elkton prison in Lisbon, Ohio, where he was previously held in solitary.
“It was punitive. At first, they said he violated rules by speaking to the media — which there is no such rule,” McFarland’s attorney, Jason Russo, told Insider. “Then they accused him of doing three-way calls, which you’re not allowed to do — but these were not three-way calls.”
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Russo added that the prison also brought charges against McFarland for photos posted to an Instagram account purportedly managed by “Billy’s team.” The attorney claimed all of the charges were dropped, except for McFarland’s violation of a rule forbidding incarcerated people from sharing commissary funds.
In October 2020, McFarland was placed in 23-hour-a-day solitary confinement after his Fyre Fest podcast appearance. He was already serving out a six-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to bank fraud, wire fraud, and lying to investigators.
On the podcast, aptly titled Dumpster Fyre, McFarland explained to co-host Jordan Harbinger how the promised “cultural experience of the decade” wound up looking like a post-apocalyptic hellscape. McFarland said any money made from the podcast will go towards the $26 million in restitution he owes his victims.
Earlier this week, organizers of Fyre Festival and 277 attendees reached a $2 million settlement, amounting to a $7,220 payment for each plaintiff in the class action lawsuit.
