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Fyre Festival organizer Billy McFarland moved to halfway house

5:58
Man behind Fyre Festival speaks from prison
Mark Lennihan/AP, FILE
ByLuke Barr
May 20, 2022, 2:58 PM

Billy McFarland, who pleaded guilty to scheming thousands of people out of money from his Fyre Festival, was moved to a halfway house this week, according to Bureau of Prison records.

McFarland was sentenced to six years in federal prison for defrauding investors. Customers and investors lost over $26 million in two separate fraud schemes, according to the Department of Justice. The festival was supposed to take place in the Bahamas in 2017.

He was moved to a halfway house in Brooklyn and is scheduled to be released in August.

McFarland unsuccessfully tried to get released from an Ohio prison in August of 2020 due to COVID-19 conditions in the facility.

Related Articles

MORE: Prosecutors rebuff Fyre Fest's Billy McFarland's request for release from prison

In a court filing, DOJ prosecutors argued that McFarland had a disciplinary violation, which counts against his release.

According to court documents, McFarland had a pen with a USB recording device inside the prison that he initially denied knowing about.

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