The saga of the drama around the infamous Fyre Festival looks like it’s nowhere near over, as new details have been released around founder Billy McFarland‘s financial woes.
McFarland, who was charged with fraud and placed the LCC under forced bankrupcy, apparently has quite the track record with running companies into the ground. Another company he runs called Magnises – a “members-only concierge service” – has come under fire.
Magnises, which was founded before Fyre Festival’s company Fyre Media, offered discounted tickets to events and concerts for its members – but of course, there was a catch behind its business plan. McFarland reportedly offered tickets that he did not have access to at the time and oftentimes purchased the tickets on the day of the performance. He was also purchasing the tickets from third-party platforms like Stubhub and Ticketmaster, then turning around and selling them to Magnises members at the company’s own loss.
It gets worse, too. McFarland was using a Fyre Media corporate credit card to purchase the tickets, regardless of the fact that they were entirely different companies with no relation. The result? Both companies faced significant financial problems – especially since McFarland charged over $1 million worth of tickets on his Fyre Media credit card over the course of four months.
Needless to say, this financial headache only adds to the heat McFarland is receiving. Things aren’t looking up for him anytime soon.
