Photo Credit: Billy McFarland (YouTube)
Fyre Festival II is a go according to convicted fraudster Billy McFarland. Now he’s selling front row tickets to a second downfall with the ‘Crew Trip.’
McFarland says the crew trip is inspired by the memoir he began while in prison for defrauding the original attendees of the Fyre Festival. “I was asked why anyone would care about my story,” he writes. “To answer the question, I wrote a memoir introduction that tried to capture the magic and sheer ridiculousness of what was happening on the weekend trips that lead to the festival. A few months after I wrote my intro, the documentaries came out.”
“You know some of the stories. You know some of the people who were there. And when you ask any of us, these trips were unquestionably the most memorable three days of our lives. I’ve been dreaming of them every day for five years. And finally, they’re back,” McFarland concludes.
He’s offering guaranteed suckers (sorry, you are if you buy this) a chance to experience the magic of getting fleeced by a known con-man. McFarland says a group of attendees will meet in NYC in February and fly to Miami. Then they’ll head down to the Caribbean.
“This trip isn’t for people who want to just sit by a pool,” McFarland notes. “We’ll be island hopping by boat, plane, jet ski, and kayaks, we’ll be free-diving for lobster, and we’ll be lighting the island up at night,” he continues. McFarland says accommodations for this trip will be a “cluster of beach-side villas and houses.” Chefs will be on hand to provide major meals, but the group plans to travel to restaurants, bars, and clubs together.
Cost? $3,500 per person or $5,500 for two people. The cost includes flights, housing, major meals, expeditions, and activities. Anyone who bought a Fyre Festival II ticket sight unseen will also receive $500 off these crew trips. Notice the lack of mention of anything music related? It’s also unclear if any of these funds will be used to pay back the original Fyre Festival attendees bilked to the tune of $26 million.
McFarland spoke in front of live crowd in Germany earlier this year, with a judge signing off on the appearance so long as McFarland donated 40% of his speaker’s fee ($18,731) as restitution to his victims. Will 40% of these funds go towards paying off those who originally put their faith in McFarland for a banger of a music festival? McFarland still owes $26 million to those he defrauded—nevermind his attempts to launch a new, above board music festival.