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2 competing documentaries have people reminiscing about the disastrous Fyre Festival. Here's everything we know about its disgraced founder.

fyre fraud billy mcfarland
  • Billy McFarland is best known fororganizing Fyre Festival , the VIP party that turned into a nightmare and instantly became infamous when hundreds of attendees were left stranded in the Bahamas.
  • McFarland pleaded guilty to wire-fraud charges in relation to Fyre Festival and sentenced to six years in prison last October. He was also ordered to forfeit $26 million.
  • This wasn't the first time McFarland had come under scrutiny for questionable businesses. Find out more about his wild life below.

Until April 2017, Billy McFarland was relatively unknown outside of the New York elite clubbing scene, but this changed overnight when Fyre Festival, the VIP party that turned into a nightmare situation as attendees were stranded with half-built huts to sleep in and cold cheese sandwiches to eat, lit up social media.

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McFarland, the 27-year-old founder of the company behind the festival, pleaded guilty to wire-fraud charges and was sentenced to six years in prison last October . He also faces a $26 million forfeiture order.

Find out more about his wild life below:

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Wikimedia Commons

After a short stint at Bucknell University, McFarland dropped out to set up his next business venture: Spling, an online ad platform.

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Getty/Patrick McMullan

Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

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Madeline Stone / Business Insider

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Facebook.com/magnises

In early 2017, Business Insider reported that Magnises members were complaining that they were notreceiving tickets on time, their trips were being canceled, and refunds were taking more than a month to be processed.

Netflix

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McFarland teamed up with Ja Rule to organize the festival. It was run by Fyre Media, a business McFarland set up in 2016.

YouTube/Fyre Festival

A host of supermodels promoted the festival, including Alessandra Ambrosio, Hailey Baldwin, Emily Ratajkowski, and Bella Hadid.

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YouTube/Fyre Festival

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Twitter/@WNFIV

Twitter/@trev4president

Instead, they were given cheesesandwiches and salads. The eco-friendly domes and villas that they were mean to sleep in were described as a "disaster tent city."

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Twitter/@WNFIV

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MusicNotes Conf/Facebook

McFarland was arrested but later released on bail.

AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

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AP/Mary Altaffer

Prosecutors said McFarland began running the business late in 2017, several months after he was arrested on charges that he had defrauded investors out of $26 million.

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AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

In July, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that McFarland, two companies he founded (Fyre Media and Magnises), a former senior executive, and a former contractor had agreed to settle charges against them.

Grant Margolin, McFarland's chief marketing officer, agreed to a seven-year director-and-officer ban and must pay a $35,000 penalty, the SEC said .

It also said Daniel Simon, an independent contractor for McFarland's companies, agreed to a three-year ban and would pay over $15,000 in disgorgement and penalty.

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Magnises

He also pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud for writing a check with the name and account number of one of his employees without authorization.

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AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Jackson said McFarland had "delusional beliefs of having special and unique talents that will lead to fame and fortune," The Associated Press reported .

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"The remorse I feel is crushing," he said during his sentencing, Vice News reported . "I lived every day with the weight of knowing that I literally destroyed the lives of my friends and family."

Hulu/Netflix

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See Also:

SEE ALSO: These photos reveal why the 27-year-old organizer of the disastrous Fyre Festival has been sentenced to 6 years in prison

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