Billy McFarland, the convicted fraudster behind the Fyre Festival debacle, has been sued in Brooklyn state Supreme Court by a former business associate he met while serving time for wire fraud behind bars, according to court papers filed Wednesday.
Jonathan Taylor, 54, is suing McFarland, 31, for breach of contract, claiming he ripped him off for more than $650,000 after they formed PYRT Technologies, a Delaware company meant to create podcasts, a treasure hunt and other activities, according to court papers.
It’s also claimed that McFarland hid funds from his probation officer in order to avoid having the money go to Fyre Fest victims.
At the time of the deal, McFarland allegedly told Taylor, an entrepreneur based in Brooklyn, that he had $6 million in capital reserves as well as a $1 million book advance. According to the complaint, McFarland said he had a $2 million publishing deal to write about the 2017 Fyre Festival disaster.
Taylor met McFarland in an Elkton, Ohio, prison in 2019 while the former was serving a sentence for sexually trafficking a minor in Florida in 2015.
The two men decided to form the company with McFarland’s business associate Michael W. Falb, with each partner retaining a one-third interest, the court papers say. Falb is named as a co-defendant.
“They had a personal relationship while they were inmates,” Taylor’s attorney Jason Russo told The Post of Taylor and McFarland. “When Jon got out, he had taken a liking to Billy and assisted him in any way he could.”
Taylor was released from prison in 2020 and began working on the projects for PYRT, including a podcast — “Dumpster Fyre” — featuring McFarland, who participated from prison. McFarland was sent to solitary confinement after a trailer for the podcast was released online in October 2020.
“Both [McFarland and Falb] directed plaintiff to provide them with funds in various forms to avoid the necessity of defendant William Z. McFarland reporting receipt of the funds to his Probation Officer, or to have the funds subject to seizure or garnishment,” the complaint says.
In addition to his six-year sentence, McFarland was subject to a $26 million federal forfeiture order for victim restitution.
In March, 2022, when McFarland was released from prison after serving four years of his six-year sentence, he and Falb allegedly began asking Taylor for cash and racking up thousands in charges on Taylor’s credit card for purchases that they claimed were business expenses, the complaint says. It also alleges they “directed” Taylor to “make various purchases on Amazon.com for the benefit of” McFarland.
The complaint further claims that McFarland and Falk asked Taylor to deliver sums of cash to McFarland’s Brooklyn home, which were used “for personal expenses, not business expenses.” The Amazon purchases and cash allegedly totalled some $30,000.
According to the complaint, there were also wire transfers of $543,172, as well as Venmo transactions, credit card charges and some $15,000 in crypto transfers — some directed to McFarland and others to third parties. In all, the complaint alleges, some $650,000 meant for business expenses was used by McFarland for personal expenses.
Taylor told The Post through his attorney that he sought to settle the dispute with McFarland without success.
Russo said McFarland repeatedly refused to return the funds provided by his client as a short-term loan between June and August 2022.
“Basically, it’s a breach of contract,” Russo said. “Billy broke any commitment that he made to Jon pretty quickly, Jon asked for his return of funds and they refused.”
McFarland’s lawyer Harlan Protass said in a statement: “This is an entirely baseless lawsuit with no merit, incorporating a laundry list of lies. The truth is pretty simple: PYRT did not want to get into business with a convicted child predator and drug addict like Jonathan Taylor. We tried multiple times to repay Jon his money, but his lawyers went silent despite our repeated attempts at contacting them. Despite the lawsuit, we still remain open to a settlement.”
In an interview with Taylor Wednesday, he told The Post that he believed that McFarland was using the cash he gave him for business expenses. “Now, I feel like a schmuck,” he said.
Back in 2017, Fyre Festival was promoted as a luxury music festival in the Bahamas, which was advertised by influencers and models, including Kendall Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski.
The disastrous event went viral after participants posted photos of cheese sandwiches in styrofoam containers and wind-blown tents. The disaster led to documentaries on both Hulu and Netflix — “Fyre Fraud” and “Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened,” respectively.
Earlier this month, McFarland organized Fyre Festival 2 at an airfield in Orange County, NY, featuring zero-gravity flights. Performers included Bobby Shmurda, Sleepy Hallow and Capella Grey. He told The Post that 75 participants attended the event.