Convicted fraudster Billy McFarland has revealed that he is drowning in more than $30 million 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 will 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.