Fyre Festival Founder Seeks A Plea Deal: Report

TRIBECA, NY — The 26-year-old behind the disastrous Fyre Festival is seeking a plea deal after being charged with wire fraud, according to Crain's.

Billy McFarland, the young entrepreneur behind the now infamous Bahamas music festival, was arrested in June.

The story behind the Fyre Festival quickly became the stuff of Instagram lore as disappointed guests posted social media dispatches from the Bahamas. McFarland and his partner Ja Rule advertised a luxury beach getaway with top of the line lodgings, food and entertainment. High-paying guests shelled out thousands of dollars before arriving to find ramshackle tents and food packaged in styrofoam containers, not the high-end residences and gourmet meals they had paid for. The festival was canceled on April 28 shortly after it started. Investors and guests sued McFarland for millions of dollars before he was arrested in June.

McFarland defrauded at least two investors of $1.2 million and overstate his company's earnings to get investments to fund the Fyre Festival, federal prosecutors said in June. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Crain's reported that in a July 28 filing that, federal prosecutors mentioned discussions around a possible plea deal in the case.

"Defense counsel and I have had discussions regarding a possible disposition of this case, and we plan to continue our discussions," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristy Greenberg wrote in the filing.

On top of the criminal charges, Fyre Festival vacated its trendy TriBeCa office space earlier this year. In May, Patch reported that Fyre Media fell nearly $35,000 behind in rent payments to its landlord, according to a legal notice posted outside the company's now-vacant headquarters. A sign currently posted in TriBeCa storefront advertises the retail space as available for lease.

Read previous Patch coverage here:

• Fyre Festival Organizer Owed $35K In Rent For TriBeCa Office, Legal Notice Claims
• Fyre Festival Founder Charged With Wire Fraud

Images via Ciara McCarthy / Patch.