Convicted fraudster Billy McFarland has revealed that he is drowning in more than $30 million of debt — but still thinks a second attempt at his disastrous Fyre Festival is the only thing that will save him.
The 32-year-old already owed $26 million in restitution to those scammed by his 2017 music festival — then found out in prison that he also owed the IRS nearly $7 million in back taxes, he told the US Sun.
“There’s restitution, there’s taxes, there’s everything from the pre-Fyre days that we’re working on,” he said, claiming “whatever I earn” each month goes to paying off tricked investors.
Despite his festival causing most of his financial woes, he reckons a Fyre Festival 2 could be his savior.
“[Fyre Festival 2] 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,” he argued, noting that “no one’s offering me $26 million to work somewhere.”
He reckons the music festival will be helped, not harmed, by the name recognition from the failed 2017 event, which drew influencers to the Bahamas to see the likes of Blink-182 and Pusha T.
“We are literally the most talked-about music festival in the world,” McFarland boasted.
“We’ve had three times [more mentions] than Coachella, which is in second place, and there’s a huge drop-off after that.”
But this time, McFarland insisted he would not be the one controlling the funds — saying he has a partner who is overseeing the entire operation.
“I have a really, really solid team and there is someone who’s actually in charge of the festival,” McFarland claimed, vaguely.
Fyre Festival 2 is scheduled to take place somewhere in the Caribbean on Dec. 6, 2024, with tickets costing $3,500, though there are no other concrete details about the event on the website.
