Fyre Fest founder Billy McFarland sentenced to six years in prison
McFarland was facing up to 20 years in prison on multiple accounts of fraud.
Billy McFarland — the founder of the notorious Fyre Festival — has been sentenced to six years in prison on multiple counts of fraud, Vice News reports.
The judge on the case sentenced McFarland to six years despite requests for leniency from McFarland's legal team, who mentioned that the 26-year-old was diagnosed with an "untreated bipolar disorder" in October. McFarland also spent the duration of the hearing apologizing numerous times.
“It is my conclusion based on all the submissions that the defendant is a serial fraudster and that to date his fraud like a circle has no ending," Judge Naomi Buchwald said. VICE also points out that McFarland's six-year sentence wasn't as lengthy as it could have been, McFarland was facing up to 20 years for three counts of fraud, one count of bank fraud, and one count of lying to investigators.
Read more here.