Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland may be able to befriend celebrities in jail, but that’s better than him pulling off more get-rich-quick schemes during his six-year sentence behind bars. Now, there’s one less way for him to profit off others because the US Marshals are auctioning off merch from the failed event.
McFarland was allegedly hoarding various pieces of merchandise in hopes of selling them for personal profit. Instead, the US Marshals have gotten ahold of the clothing stack and are currently auctioning the items off to raise money for victims of the festival who lost money (via Complex). Biding and registration has already started through the vendor Gaston & Sheehan, with the auction running through August 13th.
There’s 126 items in total up for auction. The festival merch includes a wristband concertgoers had to wear for entry, a baseball cap, long-sleeve t-shirts, exercise sweatpants, hoodies, and a souvenir token with the phrase “a conspiracy to change the entertainment world” scrawled on it.
“This Fyre Festival-branded clothing and other items that were seized from Billy McFarland were originally intended to be sold at the Fyre Festival itself but were kept by McFarland, with the intent to sell the items and use the funds to commit further criminal acts while he was on pre-trial release,” said US Marshal Ralph Sozio of the Southern District of New York. “The proceeds from the sale of these items, all traceable to McFarland’s $26 million fraud, will go toward the victims of his crimes.”
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McFarland was arrested back in 2017 on charges of providing false financial information to potential investors of Fyre Fest. The oceanfront music festival was billed as an upscale boutique experience providing luxury villas, catered meals, and performances from artists such as Migos, Major Lazer, and Blink-182, but attendees arrived in the Bahamas to find a post-apocalyptic tent city.
In 2018, after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud, McFarland was sentenced to six years in federal prison. While behind bars, he’s said to be writing a memoir about his downfall titled, Promythus: The God of Fyre.
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