FYRE Festival founder Billy McFarland owes $35 million, between unpaid taxes and restitution to people burned from his infamous first failed event.
The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal that Billy had a new federal tax lien filed against him in 2024, just as a Playa del Carmen city official told The U.S. Sun that his Fyre Festival 2 was “fake news.”
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According to the court clerk, Billy‘s latest lien totals $74,213, which is a drop in the bucket of his overall debt.
Billy has a total of four tax liens, one of which was filed against him and his defunct company Magnises in 2018 for $1,812,368.
Another was filed in New York against him in 2018 for $52,222.
As The U.S. Sun previously reported, Billy’s largest tax lien is from the feds, and was filed against him in 2022 for $6,887,435.
Read More Billy McFarland
Outside of his tax hell, Billy has been working toward paying down an eye-watering $26 million in restitution to his investors and ticket buyers from 2017’s failed Fyre Festival.
According to court documents obtained by The U.S. Sun, in 2023 an attorney for Billy told a New York federal court that he had paid just $28,000 in restitution at that point.
Earlier this week, a local official in Playa del Carmen exclusively told The U.S. Sun they knew nothing about Fyre Festival 2 happening there, and called the event “fake news.”
“I am sorry there is no Fyre Festival 2, Playa del Carmen knows nothing about it,” the official said.
The Playa del Carmen’s City Hall elaborated on the subject in an official statement.
“In light of rumors about an event called Fyre 2, we inform that no event with that name will be held in Playa del Carmen.
“After a responsible review, there is no registration or planning in the municipality.
“This government acts with responsibility and commitment to safety, public order and social coexistence.”
At a press conference last week, Billy’s team stated they secured the necessary permits for the event, and brought forward a local official as part of the announcement.
The event’s venue has already been relocated twice within a month, shifting from Isla Mujeres to Playa del Carmen after the former’s tourism board claimed the event was not legitimate.
PRESS CONFERENCE PROMISES
During last week’s press conference, Billy McFarland and his team made bold commitments regarding the festival, which is currently set to take place from May 30 to June 2.
Billy stated that the second Fyre Festival will be his opportunity to make amends for the disastrous first event, which left attendees stranded on a Bahamian island without adequate food, water, or accommodations.
FYRE Festival & Billy McFarland
The inaugural FYRE Festival remains one of the most infamous event disasters in history.
Attendees were left devastated after spending tens of thousands of dollars to attend the event, only to arrive on an island in the Bahamas lacking food, water, and accommodation- not to mention the musical acts all pulled out at the last minute.
The debacle was magnified by social media, with disgruntled influencers sharing their outrage after stepping onto Great Exuma expecting the party of a lifetime.
Instead of the promised luxury villas, festival-goers were greeted by re-purposed emergency FEMA tents.
Enticed by the allure of world-class cuisine, ticket holders found themselves served cold cheese sandwiches in foam containers.
Despite the spectacular failure, Billy exclusively told The U.S. Sun in an interview that he has his reasons for attempting the event a second time.
Billy said: “This is the most tangible way to repay the $26 million that I owe, and having real partners gives an opportunity in the next five to seven years, to actually pay back that $26 million.
“And unfortunately, no one’s offering me $26 million to work somewhere else.”
The convicted felon, who faced charges for misleading his investors, went on to say he is taking full advantage of his notoriety.
“We are literally the most talked about music festival in the world. We’ve had three times as many mentioned this Coachella, which is in second place and there’s a huge drop-off after that.
“It’s an incredible opportunity to steer that ship into the storm and embrace everything that’s happened.”
Billy, who appeared at the press conference in Playa del Carmen via a TV screen, said: “For the attendees, for the partners sitting on stage, Fyre Festival 2 is about being a dreamer.
“Being a traveler and being an adventure seeker around the world, converging on Playa del Carmen to live like Jack Sparrow, or live like Lara Croft for 3 days.”
The organizers stated they were planning to accommodate 1,800 attendees and promised 40 live performances.
While they mentioned they were not ready to reveal the lineup of performers, they assured an update would be shared on social media later in the week.
However, as of Friday, April 4, no such announcement has been made.
NO REFUNDS!
As previously reported exclusively by The U.S. Sun, the ticket agreement for attendees includes a series of unsettling disclaimers about what buyers might encounter with their costly purchase.
Among the numerous warnings is a clear statement that reads: “All Ticket sales are final. NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES.”
In 2018, McFarland admitted guilt to two counts of wire fraud in federal court in Manhattan, confessing that he used falsified documents to lure investors into contributing over $26 million to his business.
Billy spent six years in prison for his crimes.
He agreed to surrender the $26 million and had previously told The U.S. Sun that his plans for Fyre Fest 2 were part of his effort to help pay off his restitution.
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Content shared from www.the-sun.com.