Fyre Festival scammer Billy McFarland was released from prison early, report says

• Billy McFarland, the Fyre Festival organizer, was released from prison early on March 30, TMZ reported.
• He has been in community confinement since then, and is expected to stay there through August, TMZ said.

Billy McFarland, the organizer of the notorious Fyre Festival, was released from prison early, TMZ reported.

The 30-year-old was released into community confinement on March 30, and expected to stay there until the end of August, TMZ reported. It's not clear if he's at home or a halfway house.

The early release would mean he has served less than four years of a six-year sentence connected to his now-infamous 2017 music festival, which left hundreds of attendees who'd paid thousands of dollars stranded in the Bahamas.

In March 2018, McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, admitting to defrauding 80 investors and a ticket broker to put on the festival. Prosecutors accused him of using falsified documents to trick investors in a $26 million scheme.

He also pleaded guilty to duping an unnamed ticket broker into paying $2 million for a block of advance tickets for future Fyre Festivals.

Months later, he pleaded guilty in a separate fraud case involving the hawking of fake tickets to exclusive events such as the Met Gala and the Grammy Awards.

Fyre Festival was pitched as a luxury music-and-arts event with tickets starting from $1,200. Attendees expected a VIP experience when they set off to Great Exuma in the Bahamas, but the reality they faced was very different with delayed flights, half-built huts to sleep in, and cold cheese sandwiches to eat.

Partygoers then found themselves stranded on the island with little food or water, and, at times, no electricity.

The event has become synonymous with fraudulent festivals. More recently, the Revolve Festival, an event hosted by the retailer during the Coachella music festival last month, was likened to Fyre Festival after influencers complained of long lines and limited transportation that left some unable to enter.