Billy McFarland, Founder of Fyre Festival, Released from Prison at Rehab Center

McFarland was released from the Milan Federal Penitentiary in Michigan, where he was held, according to the Bureau of Prisons website, and confirmed by his attorney, Jason Rousseau. He is now under the direction of Residential Reentry Management New York, a management office that oversees transit homes in southern New York, eastern New York and New Jersey. TMZ The information was released for the first time.

McFarland’s mid-term release date is currently set for August 30th.

In 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison after admitting to investor fraud at the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival, which promised to be a high-profile music event with outlandish advertisements from top-tier celebrities. But when ticket holders showed up on Exuma Island in the Bahamas, they found that the promised event had not come to pass. McFarland also pleaded guilty to charges of fraudulent ticket sales later.

In 2020, amid a coronavirus pandemic, McFarland, through his lawyers, demanded a compassionate release from prison, arguing that he was “particularly vulnerable” to COVID-19. This request was denied and a few months later he told the press that he had contracted the virus.

Rousseau says McFarland is now only focused on paying about $26 million to pay him for the crime: “What’s the best way to generate revenue to recover that payment and make amends?” Rousseau said.

“Any new project he is involved in will be implemented solely for the purpose of compensating his victims,” Rousseau said.