Fyre Festival organizer Billy McFarland pleaded not guilty to fraud charges over the Bahamian music event that went viral this spring when ticket holders offered real-time social-media coverage of its disastrous collapse.
McFarland appeared in Manhattan federal court Monday morning where he waived his right to be charged via an indictment brought by a grand jury; instead, he agreed to move forward facing charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a bank that were presented by prosecutors in a document known as an “information.”
That likely signals a plea deal is in the works.
The 25-year-old was arrested in June on charges that he defrauded investors who poured $1.2 million into two companies associated with April’s ill-fated festival. Authorities said McFarland provided false documents inflating Fyre’s revenue.
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